This research examines the relationship between financial aid, price, and the enrollment decisions of first-generation college students. Using human capital and socio-cultural theories in conjunction with previous research, the study establishes a conceptual framework to assess how personal, academic, and college variables associate with a…

The long-term financial viability of private higher education has been a topic of concern for some time, with experts predicting their decline. This concern has been exacerbated by declining enrollment, mounting deficits, and a wave of closures among small private institutions. Demographic changes, including declining high school graduate…

In developing countries like Ethiopia, although destitute students technically have access to education, they still face significant barriers to completing their schooling. This study analyzes the impact of the Institute for Global Outreach's (IGO) Student Empowerment Initiative, particularly its monthly stipend, and the university-provided Life…

First-generation students possess a set of unique characteristics that can make persisting in college more challenging than it is for their continuing-generation counterparts. Because many first-generation students are also low-income, community college is an affordable option to access their postsecondary goals. Each year, one-third of all Pell…

I use rich administrative data and several quasi-experiments in Texas to study which students benefit most from college grant aid and why. For "extensive-margin" students, grant aid causes enrollment in college, and therefore has potentially large benefits relative to these students' no-college counterfactual. In contrast,…

In this dissertation, I study the relationships between financial aid, student characteristics, persistence, and completion in three separate chapters. In all three chapters, I use detailed, student-level administrative data from the UNC System beginning in the Fall 2013 semester. The first chapter is entitled "Tuition Reduction and Student…

A number of studies have examined the impact of changes in price on students' enrollment decisions at the undergraduate level, but little is known about the price responsiveness of graduate and professional students. This dissertation utilizes difference-in-differences and regression-discontinuity methods to analyze student-level data for admitted…

In the 21st century, more students enroll in higher education and take federal loans to defer the cost of attendance resulting in average levels of borrowing steadily increasing. In the same timeframe, there is an increase in the number of students entering repayment for their federal loans and an increase in the proportion of individuals…

According to the National College Attainment Network (NCAN, 2023), each year, thousands of high school graduates leave billions of dollars in federal student aid unclaimed because they do not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To holistically investigate this phenomenon, this dissertation accomplished three goals. The…

The purpose of this retrospective analysis research study was to create a trend description of rural students' characteristics and outcomes of higher education in one state in the northeastern United States. An additional aim of the study was to determine the distance to campus for rural and non-rural students and the relationships between…

Tuition discounting has long been an important component of revenue management at private institutions and has been steadily growing in prevalence in public institutions. The fundamental assumption of tuition discounting is that student enrollment behavior can be influenced by strategic optimization of student aid and tuition price. However, a…

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…

Rising rates of loan-taking and default have motivated higher education institutions to expand their knowledge about students' borrowing behaviors and the influence of loan debt on students' collegiate experiences and educational outcomes. This study addresses several limitations in the literature and provides insights into this topic. Using…

College degree attainment benefits both private citizens and society. Historically, degree attainment rates have differed based on students' race, income, and parental education. Along with differences in degree attainment rates, time to degree has been increasing for all students nationally. Increased time to degree has adverse effects for…

The Arkansas National Guard Tuition Assistance (NGTA) program was created to recruit and retain Arkansas National Guardsmen by providing college funding regardless of Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test scores. The funding provided up to 100% of tuition costs at any Arkansas public college or university and was effective…