Administrative burdens scholarship has explored the factors influencing bureaucrats' perceptions and administrative discretion when entitled individuals seek policy benefits. Few studies, however, have recently investigated such phenomena with undocumented youth immigrants. Drawing from online web surveys and conducting a mixed methods study, I…

This paper studies families' capacity to pay for college in the United States, focusing on changes over time and differences by race and socioeconomic status. I use data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) to document changes over time in the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid…

Amid persistent rises in college tuition over the past several years, financial aid policy has marched steadily toward goals of making college more affordable and removing economic barriers to attendance. Promises of "free college" often target low- and middle-income students, and likely have a particular influence on: (a) students who…

College is a worthwhile investment for many people. Research shows that attending college is associated with a variety of benefits, including higher earnings, a lower chance of being unemployed, greater job satisfaction, and better health (Oreopoulos and Salvanes 2011). However, these benefits come at a cost. As many current and prospective…

Despite generous financial aid provided by the government for low-income students studying at universities, eligible students are still reluctant to apply for such aid. This study aimed to assess the effects of students' expectations; knowledge, attitudes, and actions toward higher education; financial aid; parental, school, and student…

The U.S. Department of Education's three-month delay in launching the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and the subsequent lack of continuous access, ambiguities in the form, and data reporting errors have resulted in a significant decline in form completions for 2024. The analysis in this report--a first-of-its kind study…

Award displacement occurs when one type of financial aid award directly contributes to the change in the quantity of another award. We explore whether postsecondary institutions displaced awards in response to the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship by capitalizing on the doubling of the maximum Promise amount in 2012. We use de-identified…

This article is the third of a three-part series based on the book, "Basic Guide to Financial Aid," which recently won NASFAA's Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award. The contents within are adapted from the publication, with additional emphasis on the impact federal student aid administration has on non-financial aid professionals in higher…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Graduate Degrees: Risky and Unequal Paths to the Top" which proposes new measures to improve accountability and transparency in graduate education through a regulatory framework for Grad PLUS loan eligibility that includes both an in-field earnings premium test and a debt-to-earnings test.…

Generally, need-based financial aid improves students' academic outcomes (Nguyen, Kramer & Evans, 2019). However, the largest source of need-based grant aid in the United States, the Federal Pell Grant Program (Pell), has a mixed evaluation record (Bettinger, 2004; Rubin, 2011; Marx & Turner, 2018; Park & Scott-Clayton, 2018;…

Families may choose to save for college or elementary and secondary education expenses using tax-advantaged qualified tuition programs (QTPs), also known as 529 plans. This report provides an overview of the mechanics of 529 plans and examines the specific tax advantages of these plans. Specifically, this report is structured to first compare…

State financial aid grant programs are commonly categorized as either need-based, merit-based, or both, but their initial eligibility requirements include many more factors than just financial need and academic merit. A categorization of programs that accounts for all requirements would facilitate a more nuanced and precise understanding of state…

Each year, millions of students access financial aid to attend postsecondary programs by completing the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA). Completing a FAFSA determines students' eligibility for Pell grants, federal work-study, and federal loans and thus smooths more students' paths to attaining bachelor's and associate degree…

Objective: A growing body of research has examined the relationship between participation in college promise programs (CPP) and student outcomes, including college enrollment, persistence, and completion. However, variation in CPP design limits the extent to which study findings are generalizable. Further, most studies analyze the outcomes of…

This paper studies families' capacity to pay for college in the United States, focusing on changes over time and differences by race and socioeconomic status. I use data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) to document changes over time in the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid…