A survey of Canadian undergraduates found that when all else is held constant, students with positive attitudes toward debt are more likely than others to have an Ontario Student Assistance Plan loan. (EV)

Investigated the impact of student characteristics and financial aid awards on degree completion rates of 2-year college students. Found that less than one-third obtained their degree, less than one-tenth of completers had a high school GPA of less than 2.0, federal loans and work study were positive predictors of degree completion, and federal…

Provides multiple workable solutions financial aid offices can offer students throughout their college experience to deal with debt: preventive solutions for avoiding problems with credit card debt, holistic solutions for other related problems, and remedial solutions for existing problems. (EV)

Analysis of data from 443 graduating college seniors found many students: (1) unaware of their total loan indebtedness and payment obligations (both over- and under-estimating debt payments); (2) borrowed to support "a better lifestyle," and (3) were unable to estimate realistically their post-graduation earnings and ability to meet repayment…

This study used the "workable persistence model" to assess the effects of financial aid on persistence of full-time resident undergraduates within the Indiana State postsecondary system. The analysis provides support for state-provided, need-based financial aid programs, and finds that student financial aid is adequate to equalize persistence…

Analyzes data showing the progress made by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in reducing student loan default rates and discusses implications of the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998 on the development of HBCU default management plans. Identifies continuing barriers to higher education for minorities, including poor…

Used 1993 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study data to develop a model of dental student within-year persistence examining the influence of financial aid, tuition, and debt variations on the probability of students' persistence. Though the amount of financial aid received is meeting students' immediate financial needs, debt may have an…

This case study examined the effects of student financial aid on within-year persistence at an urban public university in the 1990s. Results indicated that aid packages remained adequate at this university. It appeared that state and institutional grants played an increasingly important role in maintaining affordability in this new context of…

Used National Postsecondary Student Aid Study data to examine how debtload influenced undergraduate persistence decisions at public and private colleges. Tuition prices had a significant negative effect on persistence, though that effect decreased from 1987-93 in all cases. At every level, private school students were more sensitive to the effects…

Reviews issues surrounding college tuition discounting, and outlines sources of confusion, defines various discount types, provides historical background prior to recent changes in fund accounting rules, describes the new rules' impact, outlines different uses of tuition discounting by three groups, and applies the accumulated definitions to an…

A study of the effects of tuition discounting practices on European-American and African-American college students (n=42,793) found that differences in student price response to tuition helps explain differences in persistence rates in the two groups. African Americans were found to be substantially more responsive to tuition than were European…

With women undergraduates now outnumbering men, there are now more women than men borrowing for college. A study used three national data sets to examine differences in borrowing between male and female undergraduates. While some differences both in borrowing patterns and behaviors were found, men and women were found to be borrowing similar…

A survey of 19 diverse two- and four-year colleges in Ohio investigated the availability and use of online applications for college admission, parent and student awareness of and planning for financial aid, the perceived value and cost-effectiveness of online aid applications, and public-policy implications relating to the use of technology for…

Discussion of the need for the Perkins Loan Program examines recent trends in borrowing under this and the Stafford Loan Program, comparing demographic characteristics, income levels, educational costs, and financial-need levels of loan recipients. It is concluded that the Perkins program continues to play a vital role in providing need-based aid…

A study investigated the variables associated with high school students' sensitivity to tuition in the college-choice process, interaction of tuition and student aid, relationship of family and student characteristics to this sensitivity, and the roles of student perceptions and student institutional connections in price sensitivity. Subjects were…