The discrepancies in college enrollment based on a student's socioeconomic background challenges the upward mobility of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Jesuit colleges and universities, guided by Catholic Social Teaching and their own focus on social justice, are uniquely positioned to facilitate the social mobility of the…

A number of studies have examined the impact of changes in price on students' enrollment decisions at the undergraduate level, but little is known about the price responsiveness of graduate and professional students. This dissertation utilizes difference-in-differences and regression-discontinuity methods to analyze student-level data for admitted…

I conduct a series of analyses aimed at assessing equity in selective American colleges over a 20+ year time frame. My main measures of equity are enrollment and completion in selective colleges, which I disaggregate by race/ethnicity. After creating an institutional-level panel data set with variables on college revenues and expenses, tuition,…

This dissertation consists of two chapters studying the importance of household income for shaping student outcomes in the market for higher education in the United States. The first chapter uses the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 to document that conditional on student ability, high-income students are more likely to enroll in college and…

This dissertation is a collection of three essays in Public Economics. The first chapter studies the optimal design of student loans as a lever to foster the inclusion of poor students in private colleges in Brazil. The second chapter delves into understanding the consequences of affirmative action as a tool to increase the participation of…

The decisions that students make about their educational attainment have profound impacts on their future economic, demographic, and social outcomes. These decisions, however, do not happen in a vacuum. There is a long tradition of research in sociology, education, and behavioral economics that has studied inequality in educational decision making…

There is currently a great deal of interest in the potential of reductions in or elimination of the cost of college attendance for students (here referred to as college subsidies) to increase equitable access to higher education. A number of Democratic presidential candidates have advanced proposals for such programs. However, because colleges and…

How much of a difference does it make whether a student of a given academic ability enters a more or a less selective four-year college? Some studies claim that attending a more academically selective college markedly improves one's graduation prospects. Others report the reverse: an advantage from attending an institution where one's own skills…

Tuition discounting is a tactic deployed by many private four-year institutions as a means for enhancing either tuition revenue or institutional image. This study examines associations between "socioeconomic diversity" and two aspects of institutional grants--"freshman discount rate" and "freshman grant recipient discount…

The nation's most selective colleges are often the centerpiece of the discussion surrounding college choice, and trends in college selectivity are relayed through stories of plunging admission rates at a few high-profile postsecondary institutions and anecdotes of model high school students unable to secure seats at these colleges. Such stories…

Colleges and universities discount tuition by providing institutional aid to reduce the actual amount paid by a student. Discount rates are substantial and continue to increase, particularly at private institutions. Funded institutional discounts are linked to gifts or endowment income restricted to financial aid. Unfunded institutional discounts…

Although student retention, persistence, and graduation is a high priority for institutions and policymakers, graduation rates are not improving. Nowadays, more students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds have access to traditional higher education. In this essay, the author argues that an educational system that fails to prepare…

The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) sought to identify those institutions helping students overcome barriers to college completion and achieve a livable wage. This analysis of Illinois 4-year postsecondary institutions highlights those institutions which fostered degree completion and job success with less debt for underrepresented…

The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) sought to identify those institutions helping students overcome barriers to college completion and achieve a livable wage. This analysis of Illinois 4-year postsecondary institutions highlights those institutions which fostered degree completion and job success with less debt for underrepresented…

Today a college degree is considered the ticket to a good job and the gateway to economic advancement. A student's chances of gaining admission to college, however, are often based more on parental wealth than the student's achievements. At the nation's most selective colleges, three percent of incoming freshmen come from families in the bottom…