Mississippi appropriates millions of dollars each year to the Higher Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students (HELP) Grant to help college-ready, low-income students pay for college, but little is known about the effectiveness of the program. This dissertation in practice examines the impact of the HELP Grant by comparing the college-going performance of HELP Grant recipients to the college-going performance of similar students who did not receive the HELP Grant. The study finds HELP Grant recipients complete significantly more hours and earn significantly higher GPAs than non-recipients after the first term, first year, and second year of college. With the HELP Grant, minority students and the lowest income students complete nearly as many hours and earn nearly the same GPA as their majority and higher income peers. Nevertheless, the merit eligibility criteria act as an eligibility barrier for many students, so too few students receive and benefit from the HELP Grant. These data will be shared with policymakers to inform the Mississippi budget process and the development of general legislation. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]