Financial aid has long been used to increase access to postsecondary education, particularly for underrepresented students. Given the size of the financial aid system and the widespread use of aid, it should also be thought of as a tool to improve academic success and postsecondary completion. Evidence suggests that using additional financial aid to increase the number of credits students take may accelerate their academic progress. The Obama administration recently released two proposals that would provide students with supplemental Pell Grant funds to encourage timely degree completion. Some states already use financial aid dollars to encourage students to increase the number of credits they take. Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation's (MDRC's) six-state Performance-Based Scholarship Demonstration evaluated the impact of providing low-income students with scholarships that were contingent on meeting certain academic benchmarks, such as completing a certain number of credits with a "C" average or better. In this report MDRC briefly examines programs in New Mexico, New York, and Louisiana, in an effort to suggest that incentives encourage students to increase their credits.