In 2021-22, Texas implemented a policy requiring all public high school seniors to complete a financial aid application. This paper examines the early impacts of this requirement on Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates and college enrollment using a difference-in-differences model. First, using a sample of high schools…

Access to financial aid is crucial in ensuring that students can afford college. Students must file the FAFSA to access federal financial aid and usually the FAFSA is also required for state and institutional aid (U.S. Department of Education, n.d). Prior research has shown, however, that the FAFSA is complicated and burdensome to complete and…

The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to implement digital outreach strategies, which would enhance students' motivation to complete financial aid requirements and scale the departments' more time-consuming counseling efforts. Using self-determination theory as the primary framework, I implemented the use of a series of…

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;…

Generally, need-based financial aid improves students' academic outcomes. However, the largest source of need-based grant aid in the United States, the Federal Pell Grant Program (Pell), has a mixed evaluation record. We assess the minimum Pell Grant in a regression discontinuity framework, using Kentucky administrative data. We focus on whether…

The Federal Pell Grant program, authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting postsecondary education students. The program provided approximately $31 billion in aid to approximately 6.5 million undergraduate students in FY2023. Pell…

Amid a troubled overhaul of the federal process for applying for student financial aid, the share of Wisconsin high school seniors completing the application so far this year has plummeted. The largest declines have been at schools with greater proportions of marginalized students. While the gap may be narrowing as students near commitment…

Financial aid opens the door to a college degree and makes higher education a real possibility for students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Student knowledge about financial aid availability and application processes, however, varies substantially by race, ethnicity, and income. Despite belonging to families with lower-than-average family…

We examine changes in California's FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) applications during the COVID-19 crisis. There was little change in applications for high school graduates due to an early deadline for state aid. After the deadline--from early March to mid-August--FAFSA applications of potential college freshmen declined 14%,…

The "Student FAFSA Completion Report" (2024) is submitted pursuant to Education Article § 7-212, Annotated Code of Maryland, which requires the Maryland Longitudinal Data System (MLDS) Center to annually produce an annual report, on or before December 15th of each year, beginning in 2023 and ending in 2028, on the submission and…

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the primary application that determines access to federal, state, and institutional financial aid. When students fail to complete their FAFSA application, they are less likely to enroll or complete a credential, leaving tens of millions of federal resources for students on the table. Boosting…

The problem addressed in this study was that poor performance in dual credit programs negatively impacts first-year community college student's academic progress, placing them at risk for unsatisfactory academic progress and jeopardizing their financial aid eligibility. The purpose was to understand the experiences of first-year college students…

This study examined the role of a state need-based financial aid policy in Latina/o high school students' meaning making of postsecondary access. Utilizing narrative research, the analytical focus on the meaning making uncovered patterns of individual agency in the journeys of eight Latina/o high school students who were recent enrollees in the…

This Data Point looks first at whether students who planned to go to college also met with a high school counselor about financial aid. The second question considers a different population of students, addressing whether students who enrolled in college also received aid. This analysis does not indicate a causal relationship between meeting with a…

Approximately 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness on their own every year. These young people -- referred to as "unaccompanied homeless youth" under federal education law -- face unique barriers to accessing and completing higher education. Unaccompanied homeless youth are not living with, or supported by, a parent…