Decades of research has suggested that completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be a complex, difficult process for postsecondary students and their support networks. However, no extant research has informed federal student aid practitioners and researchers as to what federal student aid jargon terms institutions of…

In 2009, President Obama called for a simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), resulting in the average family completing the FAFSA in 20 minutes. Yet, during the 2013-2014 college application season, nearly 900,000 Pell Grant-eligible high school graduates did not complete the FAFSA, leaving $2.9 billion in Pell…

In examining national data on Federal Pell Grant eligibility in the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), we were puzzled to discover that many students who appear to have eligible Expected Family Contributions (EFCs) do not receive the award. We use institutional data from a large public university to understand and enumerate changes…

Loan borrowing among community college students has increased in recent years. This study utilized original survey data to examine this trend from the perspective and firsthand experiences of 107 community college financial aid counselors from three states: California, Florida, and Texas. Findings indicate these counselors are concerned with the…

Access to financial aid is dependent on a variety of factors, including the time of application; the earlier students apply for financial aid, the greater their access to institutional and often state resources. We use the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) as a case for investigating the economic, social, and academic factors that affect…

Every year, millions of students who would have qualified for financial aid do not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Discouragingly, many of these students come from lower-income families and would have qualified for Pell Grants that do not have to be repaid. Using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students…

National statistics indicate that approximately 50 percent of all graduate students fail to complete their degree; thus, understanding the factors that influence their persistence is an important research objective. Using data from a nationally representative sample of bachelor's degree recipients, the study aimed to answer three questions: What…

This article focuses on the Web-based resources available to low-income students as they build their perceptions, make their decisions, and engage in financial aid activities. Data are gathered from the results of six focus groups with low-income high school students attending urban high schools. Findings suggest that low-income students do have…

Using institutional data, this paper presents a model to enable researchers and enrollment managers to assess the effectiveness of financial aid packaging policies in light of student characteristics and institutional market position. The model uses discriminant analysis and a series of hypothetical financial aid award scenarios to predict the…

This study examined the use of education tax credits at four community colleges using data from the Federal Quality Assurance Program in 1998, the first year of the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Tax Credit (LLTC). Preliminary estimates indicated that the two tax credits were expected to primarily benefit middle-income tax filers with…

Findings of a University of Wyoming study suggest that the BEOG program is accomplishing its purpose: making students from low resource families equal to students from more affluent families in their opportunity to persist, achieve, and graduate from higher education institutions. BEOG and non-BEOG recipients are equal in their capabilities for…

A 1976-77 survey of 2,000 Illinois grant recipients gathered data on students' actual dollar expenses for tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, medical/dental expenses, transportation, clothing, entertainment, personal items, child care, support to relatives, and "other." Typical expenditures were analyzed for different…

A sample of nonpersisting students is compared with persisting counterparts at Pepperdine University in terms of receipt of financial aid, grades awarded, etc. The findings suggest that financial aid is awarded to students with a higher probability of persisting to the end of the term. (LBH)

A study to determine the number of dependent students making changes on parental adjusted gross income during the verification process is discussed. The study defined the number of dependent students who had a change in their Student Aid Index as a result of validation. (MLW)

A large survey of postsecondary students in California was used to test the sensitivity of alternate definitions of the independent student population on the number and proportion of independent students, to trace the cost implications of these alternate definitions, and to offer conclusions about the effects of these definitional changes. (MLW)