CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – Four students, along with staff members, from Wilson College will be among those from more than 80 colleges and universities attending a state capitol event on Tuesday, April 14, for Student Advocacy Day.
Wilson students attending are Madison Kline, Jaylyn Lopez, McKayla Lawley, and Devin Rotz.
They are part of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania and will meet with their legislators and call for action on “college access.” They also will hold a noon press conference in the capitol rotunda.
The students are advocating for their colleges and for student aid, and they will correct misconceptions
about higher education. Some students are travelling 500 miles roundtrip to meet with their legislators,
to participate and to make their voices heard, association officials noted.
“Here are the students behind the statistics, the faces behind the data,” said AICUP President Tom Foley.
“Look right here if you want to see how the state’s most successful higher ed funding programs benefit
Pennsylvania’s students. Programs include PHEAA’s PA State Grant, Grow PA, Student Teacher Support,
and the Ready to Succeed scholarships.”
Pennsylvania is a national leader in higher education, but despite this, misconceptions about higher
education persist, even here in our own state, association leaders said. Students will use this opportunity to debunk myths about college and to share how their own experiences highlight the value of a college education.
For example, under-reported and little-known facts about Pennsylvania colleges and the AICUP sector include:
- Pennsylvania is second in the nation in having the most “Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax)
Dollars” according to Washington Monthly, using criteria like affordability, access and
outcomes. Some 75% of Pennsylvania’s best colleges for affordability, access, outcomes are AICUP
member colleges, according to the Washington Monthly. - Pennsylvania is third in the nation in having the most “Best Colleges in the U.S.,” according to the
Wall Street Journal, citing criteria like Best Salaries, Social Mobility and Best Value. All top 19
colleges in Pennsylvania are AICUP members, and AICUP members make up 88% of all the
schools ranked as the best in Pennsylvania, according to the Wall Street Journal. - Pennsylvania ranks fourth in the nation in having the most “Colleges Where Low-Income Students
Get the Highest ROI,” according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce report. The top nine colleges in Pennsylvania for best return on investment for low income students are all AICUP members, according to Georgetown. - Pennsylvania is second in the nation as a top destination for out-of-state college students,
according to NPR Philadelphia. That’s based on 34 years of government data, (two in three out-of-state
students move to Pennsylvania to attend an AICUP member college, helping make the state a magnet for talent). - AICUP members are 94% of the colleges in Pennsylvania offering “free tuition” programs (16 of
17 colleges), according to the Washington Post, 2026. That’s in addition to the many unlisted
scholarships, grants and discounts making AICUP member colleges competitive and affordable. - An American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Fellow found that the college/major combos with best
ROI in Pennsylvania are AICUP members, including all of the top 35 and 47 of the top 50 in
Pennsylvania, as reported by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. - The Third Way Economic Mobility Index ranked AICUP members as 20 of the top 25 colleges in
Pennsylvania for economic mobility and success after graduation. - Pennsylvania is eighth in the nation in total state need-based grant aid to low-income
undergraduate students (Source: 54th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student
Financial Aid, 2022-2023 Academic Year. National Association of State Student Grant and Aid
Programs. Table 4, page 9.), and 11th in the nation in per capita need-based state
grant aid to low-income undergraduate students (same source, Table 12, page 23). - Top in innovation and research: Pennsylvania is among the top four states in the nation in winning
NIH federal research grants, a fact reiterated recently by NPR Philly (and the AICUP sector leads
PA in winning NIH and NSF science grants). Four in seven Pennsylvania R1 research universities are
AICUP members, and one AICUP member is even credited with inventing AI and WiFi. One in six
American Nobel Prize winners are affiliated with the AICUP member colleges in Pennsylvania.
AICUP is the largest sector of higher education in Pennsylvania, educating 279,000 students and 53% of
all four-year degree-seeking students in Pennsylvania. This independent nonprofit sector represents: - The most lower-income students of any higher ed sector in Pennsylvania
- 46% of Pell Grant and 47% of PA State Grant (PHEAA) recipients seeking bachelor’s degrees in Pennsylvania
- Nine AICUP members enroll a student body of over 50% Pell recipients; 40 enroll over 30% Pell
- 52% of all underrepresented minorities seeking bachelor’s/advanced degrees
- The best on-time graduation rates of any sector of higher ed in Pennsylvania
- Lowest cost to taxpayers
- Best R.O.I. to students, the state, and taxpayers (Re: Wall Street Journal, AEI, Georgetown)
- Competitive tuition and fees that have actually fallen on average in the last decade, lowest debt
default rates, and best post-grad employment rates and salaries.
AICUP member colleges graduate 39,000 new workers into the Pennsylvania economy every year, the highest for
any sector. In Pennsylvania, AICUP members represent 69% of students pursuing a four-year nursing
degree, and 45% of all teacher certification candidates, and 58% of all bachelor’s/advanced degrees
awarded in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math).
Readers may learn more facts about independent nonprofit higher education and view the AICUP Economic Impact Report on the AICUP website: www.AICUP.org.
