For decades, college tuition costs have been skyrocketing, yet state financial aid has failed to meet the increasing economic needs of college students -- leaving many young people with the choice of bridging the financial gap by taking out student loans or not attending college at all. This pressing issue of rising college tuition is not just a…

For 16 years, Sallie Mae has surveyed college students and parents of undergraduate students about their attitudes toward higher education and how they're paying for it. This year's report explores education funding sources--from family income and savings to scholarships, grants, and borrowed funds--and evaluates trends in payment strategies over…

College affordability is a significant factor in student access, retention, and completion. Tuition and fee rates are a component of affordability, as is the availability of financial aid programs from federal, state, institutional and private sources, among other factors. Strategically designed approaches to college affordability can better…

Summary: In spite of a large literature on the causal effects of financial aid, the impact of funding on college outcomes remains an area of ongoing research with important unanswered questions. Studying the impact of financial aid presents the ongoing challenge of how to identify causal effects, as aid receipt is rarely random and at least partly…

Borrowing has become increasingly central to U.S. students' college financing choices. However, concerns about indebtedness may serve as a barrier to attaining a college degree for many students, particularly women and Black and Hispanic students. This study explores the determinants and heterogeneous impacts of debt aversion, or aversion to…

Differences in funding mixtures across the United States create widely variant levels of unmet need for students. This research examines gaps of unmet need between 2003-4 and 2013-14, particularly considering the presence of any local funding provisions and Pell Grant funding changes. These findings are also considered across state, community…

This Data Point uses data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 is a national study of more than 23,000 students in ninth grade in 2009. Students answered surveys between 2009 and 2016. College transcripts were collected in 2017-18. This Data Point looks at the connection between views of college affordability in high…

After decades of frustration with increasingly complex college financial aid policies, a nationwide shift toward "free college" programs has gained momentum. New York State joined the free college movement in 2017, when Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his goal to make public higher education tuition-free for most students during his…

The federal government now offers a multitude of complicated income-driven repayment (IDR) plans that are difficult to understand, enroll in, and stay in. Many students who would benefit from IDR do not enroll, and others will have large amounts of debt forgiven despite earning high wages. The current problems with IDR are not an indictment of the…

The Department of Education disbursed nearly $112 billion in financial aid to students through various grant and loan programs in fiscal year 2021. Colleges generally provide students information about the aid for which they are eligible in financial aid offers. Students use these offers to make key decisions, including which college to attend and…

The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how and why different state financial aid policy designs have developed, with particular attention to external influences, and what effect those design choices have on student outcomes. In the first essay, I use the theoretical framework of diffusion to understand the design and adoption of…

In 2018, New America partnered with uAspire, a nonprofit focused on college access and affordability, to review thousands of financial aid offers from over 500 colleges and universities. The resulting report, "Decoding the Cost of College: The Case for Transparent Financial Aid Award Letters," recommended several minimum bars financial…

All students should have the ability to thrive within collegiate environments. Despite widening access for postsecondary education participation, low-income students often do not experience the collegiate environment in the same ways as their well-resourced peers. Previous research highlights obstacles low-income students face; yet, these results…

Each year, NASSGAP completes a survey regarding state-funded expenditures for postsecondary student financial aid. This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the extent of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year…

The costs of attending four-year colleges and universities in the United States have steadily increased over four decades leading to high levels of student debt and many obstacles for low-income students. The analysis presented appraises the extent of the cost and affordability problems, debunking the sensationalistic claims that are common in…