One of the most affluent segments of the population is also one of the least well prepared to face the reality of college costs. It is not the need analysis system that causes difficulty but a combination of rapidly increasing costs and the changing lifestyle of this group. (MSE)

Budget problems are leading states to limit grants for college students in 1990-91, although overall aid spending is higher than ever. Grant programs not based on need are increasing faster than spending on need-based aid, mostly in awards for academic achievement and programs for equalizing tuition between public and private institutions. (MSE)

Data on National Direct Student Loan Program borrowers at the University of North Carolina illustrate the use of a discriminant function analysis model and an alternative model identifying characteristics of borrowers who repay and borrowers who default. The alternative model--the Tobit technique--includes data on the magnitude of the default.…

Compared the work performance of college work-study (N=52) and nonwork-study students (N=52), as evaluated by the students themselves and their supervisors. Determined that supervisors of student workers regard nonwork-study students as significantly better workers than work-study students. (Author/ABL)

Analysis of the impact of current student financial aid policy on different sectors suggests that new policy is required. The success of the proprietary sector in increasing its market share at the expense of other sectors (e.g., community colleges) provides useful lessons about aggressive recruiting. (Author/MSE)

The paper reviews and critiques the 13 existing (1987) law school assistance programs and proposes a national repayment-assistance debt-forgiveness program which would involve an income-contingent repayment "tax" coupled with an assurance to creditors of repayment by means of a "guarantee" or "insurance" fund. (DB)

A study using a national sample of 1,375 college students attending public 4-year institutions tested hypotheses concerning economic and noneconomic variables on college persistence. Findings indicate financial variables moderate the effect of goal commitment on persistence. Implications for theory and for financial aid policy are explored.…

Higher tuition coupled with more financial aid for those in need is more equitable than the low-tuition model where rich and poor pay the same tuition. Higher education, particularly public higher education, should be collaboratively financed by all those who benefit: federal government, the states, business, students, graduates, and families.…

Estimates of the total subsidy received by undergraduates from all sources are presented, based on existing national data. Results are presented by family income, ethnic group, ability (quartiles), and type and control of institution. Some comparisons are made for 1980 and 1983. (Author/MSE)

Creative ideas recently emerging to help families cope with rising educational costs are reviewed, including state and federal level savings plans, alternative loan programs, guaranteed access plans, and public service proposals. (Author/MSE)

While saving for college is important, educators should beware of savings programs involving significant funding. The difficulties of middle-class families should not divert attention from the problems of the less advantaged. A variety of savings plans will be needed, and both public and private educational and financial institutions will have a…

The Education Department's calculation of student loan default rates is disputed. New Education Department regulations will strip federal loan money from students attending schools where large numbers of former students have defaulted. (MLW)

Critics, particularly the Reagan administration, have succeeded in focusing attention on institutions' spending habits, but economic and social conditions--not tuition inflation--are creating society's anxiety over college affordability. Four trends are at work: middle-income fears, college as gatekeeper, "portfolio-building" students,…

Parents, students, and consumers are assessing whether higher education is worth its current price. There has been a major shift in who pays for higher education and cyclical chain of distributing the costs of education has created a major shift from parent to student. (MLW)

An interview with Charles Moskos and David Evans, active in the drafting of legislation for establishment of a youth public service corps tied to federal student financial aid provision, addresses the rationale, objectives, costs, and implications of such a program. (MSE)