Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, started out as a school for the daughters of wealthy Protestant families. It’s long since gone coed, and in the past decade has added a different kind of diversity to its student body. About a quarter of Vassar students now receive federal Pell grants for low-income students, up from 12 percent eight years ago.

It’s the result of a concerted effort led by college President Catharine Bond Hill to make the elite campus more inclusive — and it doesn’t come cheaply. Hill joins Marketplace’s Amy Scott to discuss campus diversity, financial aid and why the income gap is partly to blame for rising college costs. 

Click on the audio player above to hear more.