Georgia offers two merit-based scholarships to in-state college students: HOPE Scholarships, which provide partial tuition support, and Zell Miller Scholarships, which provide full tuition support but with stricter eligibility and retention conditions. Studies have examined retention of these scholarships but not other dynamics, including gaining…

We replicate and extend prior work on Florida's Bright Futures merit aid scholarship to consider its effect on college enrollment and degree completion. We estimate causal impacts using a regression discontinuity design to exploit SAT thresholds that strongly determine eligibility. We find no positive impacts on attendance or attainment, and…

We replicate and extend prior work on Florida's Bright Futures merit aid scholarship to consider its effect on college enrollment and degree completion. We estimate causal impacts using a regression discontinuity design to exploit SAT thresholds that strongly determine eligibility. We find no positive impacts on attendance or attainment, and…

States collectively invest over $12 billion a year to support over 4.5 million students through financial aid programs. This interactive 50-State Comparison provides a look at the specific criteria employed in the top two largest aid programs by state. This interactive resource includes details about which state programs are linked to measuring…

This study evaluates the effect of Florida's Bright Future Program on student college choices. We used regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of two award levels, which had different SAT/ACT thresholds, on the probability of students choosing in-state public colleges and four-year public colleges. The most consistent and robust…

Twenty-one US states currently offer some form of merit-based postsecondary financial aid, although the generosity and eligibility requirements of merit aid programs varies from state to state. This article uses nationally representative data from high school students in the early 1990s and the early 2000s to evaluate the relationship between the…

This study examines the differences in the portfolio of institutional scholarships and the marketing of these awards between flagship campuses with and without state merit aid programs. Using content analysis techniques to analyze institutional websites of the 16 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) flagship campuses, three thematic responses…

Since its inception in 1993, Georgia's HOPE Scholarship Program has provided thousands of state residents the opportunity to pursue a college education. This study examines the history and recent changes to the merit-based program along with interesting consequences resulting from its implementation. This study demonstrates how the program has…

Louisiana's program of state merit scholarships, inspired by Georgia's HOPE Scholarship program, is over budget in its first year because lawmakers pushed to expand eligibility and data for estimating costs was inadequate. Critics find such programs often provide aid to families with little financial need. The program pays full tuition at state…

This report presents the results of a review of all state student financial aid programs in Florida and presents recommendations concerning program consolidation. The review was designed to address a variety of aid-related issues, including unexpended financial aid resources, program consolidation, budget request and aid distribution procedures,…

This study, mandated by Virginia law in 1999, reviews need-based student financial aid programs. The mandate specifies that the study must review policies and implementation strategies used in other states; present alternative policies and administrative structures for need-based programs in Virginia; provide alternatives for a simplified,…

The members of the National Association of State Scholarship and Grant Programs (NASSGP) are surveyed annually to collect data on state- and U.S. territory-funded scholarship and grant programs to undergraduate and graduate students to attend public or private postsecondary institutions. The following are among the highlights reported in this…