Low-income students' preferences for higher education might depend on the uncertainty of financial aid. Using a time discontinuity design, this paper exploits the unanticipated cancellation of a nationwide Colombian merit and need-based scholarship, called "Ser Pilo Paga," to study its consequences on students' preferences for higher…

Background: Despite historical efforts (Ellwood & Kane, 2000; Daun-Barnett, 2013; Perna, 2006; Kane, 1999), persisting inequities in higher education access underscore the need for innovative research approaches. Previous studies utilizing geospatial approaches often overlook critical dimensions like college readiness and financial aid while…

We estimate the impact of a matched savings account program on high school students' college enrollment and persistence through a randomized controlled trial carried out in Italy. The tested program (Percorsi) provided low-income high school students with a 4:1 match rate for savings dedicated to higher education expenditures and required that…

The Federal Pell Grant program, authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting postsecondary education students. The program provided approximately $31 billion in aid to approximately 6.5 million undergraduate students in FY2023. Pell…

Last November, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the administration could rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), with the fate of over 650,000 DACA recipients in the balance. Under federal law, DACA recipients cannot access federal financial aid, so most rely on a mix of private scholarships, state or institutional…

This paper is based on a qualitative research study conducted across urban and regional Australian universities. The aim of the project was to investigate the enablers and constraints faced by refugee background students transitioning from high school to university. A refugee is defined as a person who has been forced to flee his or her country…

Approximately 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness on their own every year. These young people -- referred to as "unaccompanied homeless youth" under federal education law -- face unique barriers to accessing and completing higher education. Unaccompanied homeless youth are not living with, or supported by, a parent…

Despite the growing popularity of free college proposals, countries with higher college subsidies tend to have higher enrollment rates but not higher graduation rates. To capture this evidence and evaluate potential free college policies, we rely on a dynamic model of college enrollment, performance, and graduation estimated using rich…

Barriers to accessing financial aid may keep students from matriculating to college. To test whether FAFSA completion is one of these barriers, I utilize a natural experiment brought about by a Louisiana mandate for seniors to file the FAFSA upon graduation from high school. Exploiting pre-treatment FAFSA completion rates as a treatment intensity…

The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) provides a critical opportunity to eliminate race- and income-based disparities in college preparation, enrollment, persistence, and completion. The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) believes that these disparities are caused, at least in part, by inequities at the high school level…

This Statistics in Brief describes high school student perceptions of the cost of college using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). The analyses examine the accuracy of students' and parents' estimates of public 4-year college tuition and mandatory fees in their states by comparing their estimates with actual tuition…

Although the literature offers evidence of students' aversion to borrowing for postsecondary education, it offers no insight into whether such attitudes are mutable. Through a blocked, cluster-randomized controlled trial in six diverse high schools in Louisville, Kentucky, we test whether providing student loan and repayment information affects…

Statewide College Promise programs have the potential to broadly increase affordability, access, and success for students pursuing a postsecondary credential. Statewide College Promise programs also generate controversy because they encompass critical decisions about how a large proportion of state financial aid dollars are spent, and on whom.…

College-bound recipients of DACA--a 2012 US administrative policy officially titled Consideration for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals--face a series of administrative and financial barriers in pursuing postsecondary education. These barriers often include a complicated process for in-state tuition consideration, as well as exclusion from…

The 120 movers and shakers included on LinkedIn's 2016 list of Next Wave honorees hail from a variety of industries but share a common goal. Their objective? To tackle some of the globe's most critical issues by rethinking business-as-usual. Professionals selected for the list are dedicated to transforming the way people live, learn, and even…