The Influence of Prices on Within-Year Persistence by Traditional College-Age Students In Four-Year Colleges (original) (raw)
The rising cost of higher education and questions of affordability are concerns for many families in the United States, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds. This article examines what we know about financial awareness and preparedness through a review of 39 empirical articles on the topic published between 2000 and 2013 in 24 peer-reviewed publications. The literature review highlights existing disparities by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Specifically, it examines challenges faced by students and parents when considering and preparing for college costs, and explores how current research discusses policies and practices to alleviate disparities in pre-college financial awareness and preparedness. This literature review reveals an intricate link between pre-college financial awareness and preparedness, in that information and awareness are often precursors to behaviors and preparations involved with financing a college education. Conclusions present implications for programs and policies designed to address these inequities and include recommendations for future research on this important, but under-researched topic.
The rising cost of higher education and questions of affordability are concerns for many families in the United States, but particularly for those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. The knowledge of, information about, and perceptions related to how to pay for college can impact preparatory actions taken by families to prepare to pay for college. This commentary reviews literature published on pre-college financial awareness and preparation between 2000 and 2013 to examine what we know about the topic and to highlight existing disparities by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Implications are offered for programs and policies seeking to address these inequities, as well as suggestions for future research on this important but under-researched topic.
Graduate Student Persistence: A Meta-analysis of Evidence from Three Decades
Journal of Student Financial Aid, 2010
This article conducts a meta-analysis of results of studies by Andrieu (1991), DeAngelis (1998), and Liseo (2005) to assess changes over time in the effects of nancial aid and other factors on graduate student persistence. A descriptive review of the studies nds that combination aid packages encouraged persistence in 1987 (Andrieu, 1991), while any aid promoted persistence in 1993 (DeAngelis, 1998). In 2000, loans and assistantships, as well as tuition increases, were related to persistence (Liseo, 2005), demonstrating that available aid may offset tuitions at private institutions. The individual studies demonstrate the signi cance of differing nancial variables during different time periods. The meta-analysis demonstrates that every form of aid is signi cant in promoting graduate student persistence and that grants, in particular, offer the greatest bang for the buck among this population. These ndings present policy implications for improving graduate student retention.
Arizona Uncertainty: Arbitrary Barriers in Accessing Institutional Need-Based Financial Aid
Established in 2008, the Arizona Assurance Scholars Program (AASP) channeled institutional needbased aid to in-state, low-income students. Rapidly growing costs prompted three changes to the AASP eligibility requirements in 2011. We examined how these new requirements-a 3.0 or higher high school grade point average and the submission of the Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and admission paperwork by March 1-would affect the gender, racial, and socioeconomic composition of the program's first three cohorts if they were in effect. Results revealed disproportionate impacts on racial and ethnic minorities and widened gender gaps. Male, Latina/o, and Native American students would be at statistically greater risk for ineligibility relative to female, Asian, and White students. These findings signal the need to model the consequences of policy change, particularly when it reduces college access and undermines the equity of institutional need-based financial aid programs.