Trending Research Topic File

Research supports the notion that financial aid can influence students’ postsecondary opportunities, decisions, and outcomes, but questions remain about the impact and optimal design of financial aid programs and policies.

The following compendium of open-access articles are inclusive of all substantive AERA journal content regarding financial aid published since 2010. This page will be updated as new articles are published. 

Note: Articles are listed below in reverse chronological order of publication. Click here for the list by author’s last name.

The First State Dream Act: In-State Resident Tuition and Immigration in Texas
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis December, 2017
The researcher found that foreign-born non-citizen Latino/a students were more likely to attend college after the introduction of the Texas in-state resident tuition policy.
Author: Stella M. Flores

Understanding the Promise: A Typology of State and Local College
Educational Researcher November, 2017
Researchers found that state- versus non-state sponsorship, financial award structure, type of postsecondary educational institutions at which awards may be used, and eligibility criteria are important differentiators among college programs. 
Authors: Laura W. Perna, Elaine W. Leigh

Understanding Loan Aversion in Education: Evidence from High School Seniors, Community College Students, and Adults
AERA Open January, 2017
Researchers examined the frequency of loan aversion in three distinct populations across the United States. 
Authors: Angela Boatman, Brent Evans, Adela Soliz

Working for College: The Causal Impacts of Financial Grants on Undergraduate Employment
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis September, 2016
Researchers found that sudents from low-income families in Wisconsin offered additional grant aid were 5.88 percentage points less likely to work and worked 1.69 fewer hours per week than similar peers, an 8.56 percent and 14.35 percent reduction. 
Authors: Katherine M. Broton, Sara Goldrick-Rab, James Benson

Need-Based Aid and College Persistence: The Effects of the Ohio College Opportunity Grant
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis May, 2015
The researcher found that students who beneffited from an Ohio state financial aid policy received awards about $800 higher than they would have received under a prior program.
Author: Eric Bettinger

The Impact of Institutional Grant Aid on College Choice
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis September, 2012
The researcher found that an additional $1,000 in institutional grant aid awarded by the typical sampled college increases the probability that the typical accepted student will choose that college by 1.66 percentage points. 
Author: Michael Hurwitz

The Causal Effect of Federal Work-Study Participation: Quasi-Experimental Evidence From West Virginia
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis December, 2011
The researcher found no evidence that Federal Work-Study (FWS) participation improves academic outcomes. 
Author: Judith Scott-Clayton

A Quasi-Experimental Investigation of How the Gates Millenium Scholars Program Is Related to College Students' Time Use and Activities
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis December, 2010
Researchers found that receiving a Gates scholarship reduces hours worked per week and influences high participation in volunteering activities and cultural events. 
Authors: Stephen L. DesJardins, Brian P. McCall, Molly Ott

By Author:

Benson, James - James.Benson@ed.gov
- Working for College: The Causal Impacts of Financial Grants on Undergraduate Employment

Bettinger, Eric - ebettinger@stanford.edu
- Need-Based Aid and College Persistence: The Effects of the Ohio College Opportunity Grant

Beoatman, Angela - angela.boatman@vanderbilt.edu
- Understanding Loan Aversion in Education: Evidence from High School Seniors, Community College Students, and Adults

Broton, Katharine M. - katharine-broton@uiowa.edu
- Working for College: The Causal Impacts of Financial Grants on Undergraduate Employment

Clayton-Scott, Judith - scott-clayton@tc.columbia.edu
- The Causal Effect of Federal Work-Study Participation: Quasi-Experimental Evidence From West Virginia

DesJardins, Stephen L. - sdesj@umich.edu
- A Quasi-Experimental Investigation of How the Gates Millenium Scholars Program Is Related to College Students' Time Use and Activities

Evans, Brent - b.evans@vanderbilt.edu
- Understanding Loan Aversion in Education: Evidence from High School Seniors, Community College Students, and Adults

Flores, Stella - stella.flores@nyu.edu
- The First State Dream Act: In-State Resident Tuition and Immigration in Texas

Goldrick-Rab, Sara - SGR@temple.edu
-Working for college: The Causal Impacts of Financial Grants on Undergraduate Employment

Hurwitz, Michael - mhurwitz@collegeboard.org
- The Impact of Institutional Grant Aid on College Choice

Leigh, Elaine W. - eleigh@gse.upenn.edu
- Understandig the Promise: A Typology of State and Local college Promise Programs

McCall, Brian P. - bpmccall@umich.edu
- A Quasi-Experimental Investigation of How the Gates Millenium Scholars Program Is Related to College Students' Time Use and Activities

Ott, Molly - Molly.Ott@asu.edu
- A Quasi-Experimental Investigation of How the Gates Millenium Scholars Program Is Related to College Students' Time Use and Activities

Perna, Laura W. - lperna@gse.upenn.edu
- Understandig the Promise: A Typology of State and Local College Promise Programs

Soliz, Adela - adela.r.soliz@vanderbilt.edu
- Understanding Loan Aversion in Education: Evidence from High School Seniors, Community College Students, and Adults