Centering the experiences and expertise of students who have gone through non-degree programs and pathways is critical to developing policy that effectively and equitably promotes credential attainment and economic mobility. Students can provide important insights into gaps and barriers created by existing public policies and how policymakers can…

New Jersey's state grant program delivers the highest level of need-based aid per student in the country. And the state's major grant program, the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG), funds all eligible students, rather than excluding students when the funding runs out. But different levels of grant aid for enrollment in different institutions within sectors,…

This report describes four measures of the price of undergraduate education in the 2015-16 academic year: total price of attendance (tuition and living expenses), net price of attendance after all grants, out-of-pocket net price after all financial aid, and out-of-pocket net price after all aid excluding student loans. Estimates are based on the…

Data presented in these tables come from the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09), a study that followed first-time, beginning postsecondary students through their postsecondary education for a period of six years. These Web Tables disaggregate these students' persistence and attainment outcomes by their…

Each year, more than a million young people in the United States experience homelessness; some of these young people, known as unaccompanied homeless youth, will face the challenges of homelessness while living on their own without the support of a caring adult. Unaccompanied homeless youth face the same struggles as other young people: trying to…

The focus of this study was the experience of students who had successfully achieved the transition from foster care to enrollment in Virginia Community Colleges. The following questions guided the inquiry: How do students who are emancipating from foster care describe their transition to enrollment at one of the Virginia Community Colleges? What…

These tables show undergraduate Stafford loan borrowing rates and average Stafford loan amounts from 1989-90 to 2007-08, using data from six separate administrations of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS): NPSAS:90, NPSAS:93, NPSAS:96, NPSAS:2000, NPSAS:04, and NPSAS:08. The estimates that appear in these tables reflect the newly…

This Postsecondary Education Descriptive Analysis Report uses data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Studies (NPSAS:96, NPSAS:2000 and NPSAS:04) to examine trends in Stafford loan borrowing among undergraduates. NPSAS consists of nationally representative survey data that focus on student financial aid and the enrollment and background…

Under current law, students pursuing an undergraduate degree in the United States are considered financially independent (from their parents) for the purposes of financial aid if, among other conditions, they are 24 years of age or older. When students' parents are able to pay, considering them financially independent may result in more generous…

A growing body of empirical evidence shows that some financial aid programs increase college enrollment. Puzzlingly, there is little compelling evidence that Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, the primary federal student aid programs, are effective in achieving this goal. In this paper, we provide an in-depth review of this evidence, which taken as a…

This report proposes a more reliable method of determining the subsidies required by independent students. The current Federal methodology for need analysis provides a crude index for determining eligibility. This report takes an innovative approach to determining independent students' ability to pay for education. It challenges many of the…

Explores the effects of redefining independent students' status in determining eligibility for Pell grants to college and university students. Recent proposals by the American Council on Education and the College Board would undercut parental responsibility and significantly increase the numbers of self-supporting students and demand on student…

A number of alternative definitions of the independent student were tested to determine what percentage of change would occur in the present distribution of dependent/independent students according to the Basic Education Opportunity Grant (BEOG) definition. Findings are analyzed and implications of possible change in the federal definition…

The lowering of the age of majority has raised doubts concerning the legality of regulations that restrict students over 18 from declaring themselves financially independent of their parents. This paper briefly examines the argument concerning the assumption that parents are responsible for financing the education of their children. With these…

Problems in defining the independent student are reviewed and the promise of California's Assembly Bill 4027 is described. It modifies the definition and focuses on establishing a different basis for distributing grant aid. (LBH)