Grant aid reduces the financial burden of human capital investment in postsecondary education. Theory suggests grant aid should substitute for other financial resources such as borrowing and labor market participation. Although studies have individually examined the impact of grant aid on hours of paid work and on borrowing for education, students…

This study used an expected utility framework with a mean-lower partial moment specification for investor utility to determine the asset allocation and the allowable contribution limits for qualified state-sponsored tuition savings plans. Given the assumptions about state policymakers' perceptions of investor utility, the study determined the…

This paper examines changes in the distribution of family income over 30 years, estimating the effect of parental resources on college education, and noting the fact that families at the bottom of the income distribution were much poorer in the 1990s than the 1970s, while the opposite was true for families in the top quartile. Data came from three…

Explained are the rationale and procedures for determining a college student's family's ability to contribute to payment of educational costs, as structured by the Congressional Budget Office. The problems of these calculations--including difficulties in obtaining enough information about state and local taxes, and possible changes in consumption…

A study of the Michigan Education Trust (MET) advance tuition prepayment plan was conducted to generate a demographic profile of current MET enrollees, compare the profile with that of the general population on certain characteristics, and identify any shifts in participant patterns from the first and second rounds of enrollment. Study findings…

Parents' and their children's means of paying for college were studied using path analysis to determine if the use of parent contributions, work earnings, or student financial aid has intergenerational effects. The sample consisted of 2,082 student/parent records from the 1990 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. Actual parent contributions…

The latitude (professional judgment) aid administrators might exercise in departing from the need analysis formula for campus-based financial award purposes is discussed. Three areas are discussed: politics, practice, and principles. (MLW)

Dropout rates were investigated with a special emphasis on comparing loan users with users of other forms of aid. Differences in dropout rates for students in the following groups were analyzed: loans only, loans in combination with other aid, other aid only, and aid from families only. Using analysis of variance the following variables were…

Issues in student financial need analysis are considered, based on the work of the Committee on Standards of Ability to Pay (CSAP) of the College Scholarship Service. The three major sections of the paper concern: CSAP's preliminary recommendations for changes in the 1986-1987 Uniform Methodology; a review of some of the methodological issues that…

Forces threatening the fundamental principles and practices of student financial aid are examined, and some advice to the profession is offered. A large dedicated profession has emerged that is skilled at bringing together students, colleges, and resources. (MLW)

This study examines how accurately first-year undergraduate students at a public university self-report family income. A comparison of student-reported income to financial aid records found that less than 40 percent of students in three incoming classes of first-year undergraduates (1995, 1996, 1997) accurately reported family income on an…

The question of whether private colleges are pricing themselves out of the market is considered. An analysis of the actual application patterns of a sample of high-ability students indicates that colleges and universities are not pricing themselves out of the market. Despite substantial increases in tuition and other fees over the last several…

This study of parents' role in the college selection process is part of an ongoing market research agenda at a small, private, liberal arts college. Data were gathered from parents of currently enrolled freshmen about the information they needed to make informed decisions about which school their child would attend and the information they…

This study documents the redistribution that began about 1980 of responsibilities for financing higher education from social resources to private resources. It also examines the issues of affordability of higher education that arises from this shift in financial responsibility. Five sets of national data from different sources are examined to…

The paper addresses California state funding of higher education in the context of an anticipated increase in enrollment in the near future. It traces the policies of funding the system from 1990 to 1995. Simultaneous studies in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota and New York provide data for comparative analysis. The paper examines factors influencing…