This thesis investigates the systemic barriers that refugee students face in accessing higher education at elite U.S. universities, with a particular focus on the top 50 universities as ranked by U.S World & News. Despite growing national commitments to refugee resettlement and education, such as the Welcome Corps on Campus initiative, most elite universities lack dedicated programs or policies that actively recruit, support, or retain refugee students. This research asks: Why have top U.S. universities failed to create robust access pathways for refugee students, and what institutional reforms are needed to close this gap? To answer this question, the thesis employs a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative analysis is conducted through the creation of a comparative index measuring each university’s engagement with refugee access based on factors such as participation in federal partnerships (e.g. Welcome Corps), existence of independent refugee support programs, availability of enrollment data, and targeted financial aid. Qualitative methods include a review of university public communications, policies, and diversity initiatives. Through this analysis, the thesis identifies recurring themes: the invisibility of refugee students in university discourse and the decentralization of refugee-related efforts. The findings reveal that the vast majority of top universities lack clear access pipelines for refugee students. Moreover, refugee students often remain statistically and administratively invisible, limiting their ability to advocate for support. The thesis concludes with several policy recommendations, including: expanding federal and state partnerships to elite institutions, conducting more research on refugee students' pathways to higher education, encouraging philanthropic investment in refugee access, and finally building institutional programs and frameworks that embed refugee inclusion into long-term diversity and access planning. Ultimately, the thesis argues that elite universities must recognize refugee students as a distinct and valuable group whose educational access must be prioritized.

In 2023, one in five adolescents in the United States (U.S.) experienced a mental illness. Among the biological, environmental, and social factors that shape youth mental health outcomes, socioeconomic status is especially influential, as youth from low-income families suffer from significantly worse mental health outcomes than their higher socioeconomic peers. The literature attributes this disparity to the dual stigma associated with poverty and mental illnesses, which deters low-income youth and families from seeking mental health care. This thesis explores trust building as a pathway to dismantle stigma and strengthen the relationship between care providers and patients in medical settings. Specifically, this thesis argues that pediatricians, often the first and most consistent health professionals for youth, should adopt a more expansive role in addressing this mental health crisis by adopting trust-building practices in patient interactions. A survey conducted for this thesis of 79 practicing pediatricians across 25 U.S. states found that the majority believe that it is their responsibility to diagnose and treat mental illnesses in patients. Additionally, the more frequently participants used nine different trust-building practices in the past year, the more prepared they felt to address mental illnesses. Nevertheless, pediatricians’ ability to implement trust-building practices is constrained by a variety of challenges, including time, lack of reimbursement, and lack of mental health competency training in medical schools. Given the promise of trust-building practices to reduce stigma and improve access to care, this thesis proposes policies that maximize pediatricians’ capacity to fulfill this expanded role and advance the mental well-being of vulnerable American youth.