A growing number and proportion of students rely on student loans to assist with the costs of postsecondary education. Yet little is known about how first-generation students use federal loans to finance their education. In this article, we examine each of the decisions that culminate in student indebtedness: the decision to apply for aid, whether…

Transitions to postsecondary education for GED graduates are a growing concern for educators and policy makers. This article analyzes the educational, demographic, and financial characteristics of Pennsylvania postsecondary students with a GED credential compared with traditional high school graduates, and identifies rural-urban differences within…

The FAFSA application can be completed by aspiring students to access federal financial aid for college enrollment. FAFSA completion rates for AISD seniors were the same in 2011 and 2012, and gaps in FAFSA completion remained among student groups.

Objectives and findings of the Basic Grant Validation Study, which investigated the validity of information provided by applicants to the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) program, are described. Implications of the findings for financial aid application validation are also discussed. Seven separate studies were conducted in order to:…

The California Guaranteed Student Loan Program is described, and information is provided on the characteristics of student borrowers. Attention is also directed to: the effect of students' total accumulated indebtedness on their education and careers; California's default rates compared with those of other states; differences among institutions in…

Changes in students' participation in higher education and in the federal aid they received are examined for 1969, 1974, and 1981 in order to relate the pattern of federal student aid disbursements to changes in the enrollment patterns among selected student groups. The following federal aid programs are examined: Pell Grants (Basic Educational…

During the 1989-90 academic year, the Washington community colleges enrolled nearly 15,000 individuals receiving public assistance under the Family Independence Program (FIP) and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), representing about 5% of the total student population. A joint project was conducted by the staff of the State Board for…

Volume 1 of this document reports the results of a telephone survey of approximately 3,600 student and parent borrowers who originated loans during the 1994-95 academic year using two Title IV Federal student loan programs, the Direct Loan and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) programs. The objective of the survey was to provide baseline…

The development of the error prone model (EPM) for the 1984-1985 student financial aid validation criteria for Pell Grant recipient selection is discussed, based on a comparison of the 1983-1984 EPM criteria and a newly estimated EPM. Procedures/assumptions on which the new EPM was based include: a sample of 1982-1983 Pell Grant recipients…

The development of a number of error-prone models to select Pell Grant recipients for validation is discussed. The 1983-1984 Pell Grant validation strategy consists of a two-stage approach: selection using Pre-Established Criteria (PEC) followed by selection using Error Prone Modeling (EPM). The database used for model development consists of a…

For several decades, education has assumed a vital role in this country's economic, social, and political development, catapulting less advantaged citizens into higher social classes and the political process. A testament to education's fundamental importance in our society are the numerous programs designed during the 1960s to eliminate the…