Subsidies to higher education in the United States have long been guided by the belief that policy should encourage college attendance. In principle, if not always in practice, policy has for some time sought to accomplish this by addressing college affordability. General subsidies that keep tuition at public institutions low are coupled with…

Florida's Bright Futures program is one of the nation's largest merit-based scholarship initiatives. This study used high school transcript and college enrollment data to examine the program's impact on high school course-taking patterns, school grades, college entrance exam scores, and rates of college attendance over time. The study indicates…

The author provides general information on scholarships for students with academic, artistic, and athletic talents. Topics covered include (1) early planning, (2) sources of scholarship information, (3) recruiters, (4) school and other sources of aid, (5) the campus visit, and (6) alternatives to scholarships. A list of references is attached. (CH)

As a college degree is becoming a necessity for later earning a steady living, tuition rates are rising rapidly. Fortunately, the availability of merit-based scholarships is increasing, yet little research has been done on scholarship-awarding practices. Determining whether high school counselors accurately perceive awarding practices is an…

The 57 colleges and universities enrolling the most freshman Merit Scholars named in 1989 are listed, with the total number of Merit Scholarship winners and the number whose scholarships were paid for by the institution. Overall, 6,290 freshman Merit Scholars were enrolled, 3,228 at private and 2,652 at public institutions. (Author/MSE)

A study interviewed 25 individuals with visual impairments who received Career Incentive Awards between 1986 and 1995. Results found the participants were a diverse group in terms of personal and educational backgrounds, career goals, and age, yet all demonstrated a common drive to succeed and were highly educated. (Contains references.) (CR)

Presents a case study that reports on one institution's longitudinal approach to measuring the effectiveness of merit scholarships as a recruitment and retention tool. Describes a method of analysis designed to measure the economic effectiveness of merit awards from the institution's perspective and identifies policy questions related to the use…

Describes how delivering on the promises of broad-based merit scholarships has been neither easy nor cheap. Problems with such programs, which offer scholarship money to in-state students who meet modest academic requirements, include skyrocketing costs, intense popularity with the public which makes change difficult, legal challenges, and many…

Explores how, while there are fears that the new emphasis on merit-based aid comes at the expense of aid to the most needy students, evidence suggests that it has not yet jeopardized need-based aid although it is clearly rapidly increasing. (EV)

Discusses how a long recession will increase students' need for financial assistance, but that unfortunately, institutions are unlikely to cut back on merit aid to do more for the neediest students. (EV)

Analyzes demographic and financial trends affecting future student financial aid needs and considers some possible solutions, including expanding definitions of merit awards to include nondirect inducements for top high school students, prepaid tuition plans sponsored by the federal government, and using information technology to store and…

A study examined the probability that students would apply to or attend Southwest Missouri State University without a freshman no-need scholarship, prospective students' awareness of these and other scholarships, the relative importance students attach to the scholarship, and the recruiting potential of the scholarship in various amounts. (MSE)

Georgia's merit-based HOPE scholarships, which cover tuition and fees for over half the undergraduates at the University of Georgia, are credited for bringing better students to the university but also for bringing pressure for grade inflation to the institution. Recipients must maintain a B grade average. The university has become competitive…

A common justification for state-sponsored merit scholarships like Georgia's HOPE program is to promote academic achievement. However, grade-based retention rules encourage other behavioral responses. Using longitudinal records of enrolled undergraduates at the University of Georgia between 1989 and 1997, we estimate the effects of HOPE on…

During the last third of the twentieth century, Christian schooling in the United States was typically identified with the growing conservative, evangelical Protestant movement of that time period. After several United States Supreme Court cases had effectively secularized public schooling by the mid-1960s, the American educational landscape was…