As university application season in the United States unfolds, many low-income and first generation college applicants continue to face obstacles in navigating numerous administrative hurdles in the admissions process, exacerbated by the pandemic. Wealth and class divides continue to grow at institutional levels, with Ivy League and other top universities experiencing a record surge in applicants while state colleges and less prestigious institutions face an alarming drop in prospective students; many brace for long-term financial distress, some may even close permanently.

Even in Japan, recent surveys report an alarmingly growing acceptance of the unequal access to higher education, as rising income disparity cements a trend of the wealthy inheriting rights and access to privatised education in order to succeed in competitive university admissions.

If existing trends of inequality favouring privileged individuals and institutions continue, mid- to low-income and achievement students could be crowded out as more schools close and fewer students overcome barriers to higher education, perpetuating a vicious cycle of education disparity.