Previous measures of the incidence of public investment in higher education focus on the transfer to public college students. This implies that the net benefits to students who do not attend public colleges is negative. However, they miss potential general equilibrium effects on the private college and labor markets. Changes in the public college…

This paper examines how colleges respond to the introduction of broad merit aid programs. Previous research has emphasized the impact of merit aid on enrollment, student choices, and post-matriculation outcomes. Yet much less is known about how state-implemented merit aid programs affect colleges' financial decisions. To explore impacts, college…

This study explores the relationship between state financial aid policies and postsecondary enrollment for high school graduates (or equivalent diploma holders). Utilizing an event history modeling for a nationally representative sample from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/2000) in addition to state-level policy variables, this…

The driving force behind the recent increase in financial aid for college education is the rapid growth of state merit-based grant programs that provide scholarships to students who meet predefined standards of academic preparation at the state level, and this trend represents one of the most pronounced policy shifts away from a long tradition of…

The purpose of this study was to explore how junior level students at a Georgia postsecondary institution perceived their college experiences were impacted by the meritbased aid they received. The study employed a phenomenological method and was based on Tinto's psycho-social-economic-organizational model, from "Theories of college student…

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) commissioned this paper to help policy leaders and decision makers understand the impact of selected state financial aid programs on students' choices--choices of which college to attend, where to attend college, and even whether to attend college at all. As the paper shows, states…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether family income is associated with student choice of higher cost versus lower cost colleges. Family income, level of Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award, and selected personal characteristics of a sample of 4,500 TAP recipients were examined to determine attendance patterns at 11 public and…

Acting through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides a comprehensive program of grant assistance to undergraduate students enrolled full-time in approved institutions of postsecondary education. In the 1974-75 academic year, the program will provide an estimated $71.5 million to more than…

This report examines differences between undergraduates who attended postsecondary institutions in states that provide different levels of student financial aid. The report uses data from the 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. The study evaluated how students combine aid types and sources, price of attendance, and personal…

The need for the continuous assessment of aid programs is discussed, and the use of the Resource-Consumer Assessment Model is described. The study aimed to gather information on the impact of the Tuition Assistance Grants on the college decision making of grant recipients. (LBH)

A study investigated the relationship of sources of financial aid to college choice. Results suggest some different conclusions than those previously obtained by freshman surveys. The value of using alumni responses for such a study is discussed, and implications for student aid packaging are examined. (Author/MSE)

This report reviews two decades of trends in college tuition, the effects on student access and college choice, and how governments and institutions have responded. Among major findings are: (1) overall, average tuition and fees have increased almost five-fold over the last two decades; (2) a major cause of higher prices has been the declining…

The student financial aid mechanism has been considered the form of subsidy more likely to provide both access and choice since it can target aid to students most in need of it and lets student choose the college of their choice. The Tuition Assistance Program in New York is discussed. (MLW)

Reports trends over a recent nine-year period in student access to and choice of public or private college as related to availability of monetary awards from one of the largest state student financial aid agencies, the Illinois State Scholarship Commission. Survey responses indicate that state awards foster access to Illinois college and…