How the Neediest Students Can Gain Access Through Financial Aid Awarding
A report on increasing access to college
Can institutions of higher education increase access and persistence for their neediest students by more carefully determining the amounts and types of financial aid to award? To explore this question, Noel-Levitz recently conducted a study of students. Among the findings: At public institutions, in-state residents who were eligible for Pell Grants enrolled at dramatically higher rates when there was a gap of less than $1,000 between their level of need and the amount of their award package. And at private institutions, in cases where at least 38 percent of the neediest students' needs were met with gift aid, the enrollment rate rose by 26 percentage points.
From a research standpoint, findings like these and others in this report represent a breakthrough. Why? Because a lack of data at the student-record level has prevented prior studies from blending all resources—federal, state, and institutional—to better evaluate and understand the breakpoints which make access and persistence a reality for the neediest students.
