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…

Racially minoritized students attending U.S. colleges and universities are often compared to their White peers in research studies, generally emphasizing their cultural deficits, masking minority group achievement, and homogenizing within group variations. This article reports data for racially minoritized students who participated in the national…

We use the random assignment of a private Wisconsin need-based grant to estimate the impacts of financial aid on college persistence among Pell Grant recipients at 13 public universities over three years. For equity and efficiency reasons, governments use conditional cash transfers to reduce the relationship between family income and college…

Chinese Americans' high levels of educational achievement have earned them attention as a "model minority" to be emulated by underachieving and underrepresented minority groups. However, the model minority analogy does not adequately explain how this achievement is realized, nor how such information can be used to help other groups close the…

This volume examines conceptual frameworks and models that flow from scholars' definitions and operationalizations of social class: status attainment theory, human capital theory, the financial nexus model, Bourdieuian theory, and critical race theory. Since students often have multiple social locations that affect their educational process, the…

A study that examined the impact of state-funded programs on a potential students' college selection decision and the extent to which other variables influence their decision is discussed. A random sample of recipients of the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) in New York State was used. (MLW)

The equitable distribution of aid funds is viewed in this paper as a problem in taxation according to ability to pay or economic well-being. This approach is emphasized because it is fruitful to consider the various financial need analysis models as systems of taxation that result in the parents' expected contribution to the postsecondary…

The standardized approach (Uniform Methodology) to estimating the expected parental contribution for dependent students is evaluated from an economist's perspective. The UM model is shown to fail to treat assets and income in a consistent manner, and recommendations for improvement are offered. (LBH)

This guide is to help professional personnel who are involved in the distribution of financial aid understand how the parent's and the student's expected contributions are derived. It prepares the financial aid administrator to consider individual adjustments that may be appropriated in the amounts expected from the student and his family in…

The findings of a national survey intended to determine the extent to which income maintenance studies are available in graduate or undergraduate social work programs are reviewed. The legitimization of income maintenance as a field of study is advocated and an educational model for the curriculum is presented. (Author/MLW)

This study examined first- to second-semester persistence of first-time, full-time college freshmen at a public four-year institution, focusing on Tinto's (1993) concept of separation. Data were collected from 689 first-time, full-time freshmen using the Cooperative Institutional Research Program 1995 Student Information Form, and from 411…

At a time when planning becomes more and more essential for American colleges and universities, precise and accurate information about them becomes critical. This document reports on some sophisticated statistical measurements of certain aspects of the supply and demand for students, places for them to attend college, and faculty members to teach…

At a time when college degrees are increasingly a prerequisite for middle-class wages, less than 40 percent of college students are able to demonstrate proficiency on literacy tests, barely half of college students graduate on time, and many do not graduate at all. At the same time. the price of college continues to increase quickly and…

Focusing primarily on students with above-average ability, this study tries to measure the extent to which these students, or subgroups of them, are discouraged from applying to high-priced institutions by purely financial considerations. Questionnaires were developed and mailed to approximately 8,000 students selected randomly from the list of…

A model to estimate higher education enrollments and cost effects of financial aid plans is presented. A combination of the freshman demand and transition models allows the prediction of high school graduates who enter colleges, complete sequential levels of education, and complete degree programs. The freshman demand model is adapted from that of…