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Congratulations to the brilliant Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University, who this week received praise from Smithsonian Magazine for her indispensable research in making college more accessible to underserved students.

Hoxby’s intensive, nationwide project compiled and cross-referenced data in an effort to find the high-performing students who for a multitude of reasons, probably would not even have considered applying to an Ivy League school.

The numbers they uncovered were shocking. They found approximately 35,000 low-income kids with scores and grades in the top 10 percentile, and discovered that more than 80 percent of them didn’t apply to a single selective institution.

Thanks to Hoxby’s efforts, those overachieving students now receive a surprise packet from The College Board, informing them that the best schools in the country welcome their application.

“It can take a generation to make a fundamental change like this,” William Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s director of admissions, told Smithsonian. “What Caroline has done will leapfrog us ahead.”

The contributions of Dr. Caroline Hoxby to education research cannot be overstated.  An authority in every sense of the word, Hoxby’s research spans from charter school performance in places like New York City to the effects of education on economic growth.

Hoxby is also a staunch critic of Stanford’s CREDO studies, which employ ineffective research methods but unfortunately still have high standing in the news media and pundit class.

Now, high schools and colleges across the country are reaping the benefits of Hoxby’s latest project, which is guaranteed to create much-needed opportunities for students whose hard work will get well-deserved recognition.