Summary: In spite of a large literature on the causal effects of financial aid, the impact of funding on college outcomes remains an area of ongoing research with important unanswered questions. Studying the impact of financial aid presents the ongoing challenge of how to identify causal effects, as aid receipt is rarely random and at least partly…

This First Look report provides selected findings from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) Postsecondary Education Administrative Records Collection (PEAR). HSLS:09 follows a nationally representative sample of students who were ninth-graders in fall 2009 from high school into postsecondary education and the workforce. The PEAR…

We provide evidence about college financial aid from an eight-year randomized trial where high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. The program was designed to be free of tuition/fees at community colleges and substantially lower the cost of four-year colleges. During high school, it increased students' college…

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington have programs designed to address college enrollment and completion gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to…

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington have programs designed to address college enrollment and completion gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to…

This publication was created to help eighth-grade students make a successful transition to high school and begin looking at college and career options. Topics covered in the booklet include exploring career options; choosing the right college for you; the North Dakota University System; making plans to graduate from high school; and attending a…

We provide theory and evidence about how the design of college financial aid programs affects a variety of high school, college, and life outcomes. The evidence comes from an eight-year randomized trial where 2,587 high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. During high school, the program increased their college…

This First Look report presents selected findings from the Postsecondary Education Transcript Study and Student Financial Aid Records Collection (PETS-SR) of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 follows a nationally representative sample of students who were ninth-graders in fall 2009 from high school into higher education…

This study examines the association between college-bound friends and college enrollment using restricted transcript data from the High School Longitudinal Study. Propensity score matching and school fixed effects models suggest that having close college-bound friends is positively associated with enrolling in college. However, Black and Latino…

The fastest growing supply of jobs in the United States today is in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Yet despite the availability of work in STEM, there is not a sufficient supply of workers to fill open positions. Amidst the growing demand for STEM workers, educational achievement and attainment in STEM fields in…

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an important tool to help students find financial assistance. Not only do students fill out the FAFSA to apply for federal aid for post-secondary education, but also to be considered for aid by states, institutions, and private funders. Thus, filling out the FAFSA, specifically, and applying…

"Louisiana Believes," the state's comprehensive plan to prepare students for college and career success, includes a system of related policies and programs that help schools provide students with pathways to future prosperity, give schools the resources to offer these pathways, and reward schools when students achieve their goals. This…

This report is a compendium of college access-related data that is intended to provide a detailed overview of Baltimore City Schools (City Schools) students' experiences preparing for, enrolling in, and completing postsecondary education. Although constrained in its scope, this report is offered in light of the fact that, more and more,…

Early awareness strategies, from outreach campaigns to cohort-based learning groups to scholarships, are a group of efforts that help middle school students stay on the path to college and understand how to fund their education. These strategies become part of early awareness programs, which seek to put students on a college-going path by…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between receiving Pell Grants and 21st Century Scholarships and early college success among the 2014 cohort of Indiana public high school graduates entering public Indiana colleges in the fall after graduation. Early college success for these students was defined using three measures plus a…