This study examines the perceptions of university students from inter-ethnic marriage families (hereafter as multicultural students) on their experiences with affirmative action policy. Ten university multicultural students who entered leading universities through affirmative action amidst the highly competitive higher education entrance exams in…

This report examines the value of SAT scores for determining merit-based scholarship decisions as well as admission to highly selective academic programs such as honors programs or colleges. Results show that the SAT is a highly effective tool for predicting students' chances of earning a first-year grade point average (FYGPA) of 3.00 or higher…

We replicate and extend prior work on Florida's Bright Futures merit aid scholarship to consider its effect on college enrollment and degree completion. We estimate causal impacts using a regression discontinuity design to exploit SAT thresholds that strongly determine eligibility. We find no positive impacts on attendance or attainment, and…

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, also known as TOPS), Louisiana's merit-based student aid program, was created via Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. Act…

We replicate and extend prior work on Florida's Bright Futures merit aid scholarship to consider its effect on college enrollment and degree completion. We estimate causal impacts using a regression discontinuity design to exploit SAT thresholds that strongly determine eligibility. We find no positive impacts on attendance or attainment, and…

This study evaluates the effect of Florida's Bright Future Program on student college choices. We used regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of two award levels, which had different SAT/ACT thresholds, on the probability of students choosing in-state public colleges and four-year public colleges. The most consistent and robust…

This study examined the trends in enrollment numbers and academic quality of first-year Tennessee students on the merit-based portion of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) upon HBCU's and religiously focused institutions in Tennessee from 2005-2014. The researchers hypothesized that the merit-based portion of the TELS was a…

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of African-American enrollment at a private college. After a thorough literature review of college choice models, a set of quantitatively measured determinants were gleaned and identified for the statistical research and treatment. The set of predictors included high school grade point…

This report describes the findings from a series of descriptive analyses seeking to understand the potential relationship between college access and school poverty for high-achieving middle school students, focusing specifically on potential access to state merit-based grant funding. Researchers monitored the academic achievement of more than…

The current study examined the validity of the selection process used for the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) to identify scholarship winners. Namely, this study examined whether students who advanced to higher NMSP recognition levels (Commended Students, Semifinalists, and various levels of award winners) had higher college performance,…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the following question: To what extent would a nationally competitive scholarship program increase science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree awards to our "best and brightest"? This inquiry is prompted by a 2006 report of a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel, "Rising Above the…

As the nation's newest broad-based merit aid program, the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program's generous eligibility requirements may target the very students who are disproportionately left out of similar programs in other states. This article compares the scholarship eligibility rates of Tennessee students with three other states:…

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 reasons Emporia State University (Kansas) selected American College Testing Program composite scores only to identify freshman recipients of a no-need scholarship are discussed. First-semester performance of recipients with discrepant preadmission scores are used to support a recommendation that a weighted combination of pre-admission variates…

Examined relationships between high school grade point average, American College Testing (ACT) scores, Stafford loan eligibility, total scholarship award, and persistence of 191 fine arts students eligible for merit scholarships at a city university. Merit scholarships were a positive predictor of retention, whereas Stafford loan eligibility was a…