Income and financial aid effects on persistence and degree attainment in public colleges

Abstract

This study examined the distribution of financial aid among financially dependent four-year college students and the effectiveness of different types of financial aid in promoting student persistence and timely bachelor’s degree attainment. The findings of descriptive statistical and logistic regression analyses using the NCES Beginning Postsecondary Students (1990-94) data show that subsidized loans taken in the first year of college have a positive effect on persistence. The first-year distribution of aid does not close the income gap in bachelor’s degree attainment. Living on campus and first-year grade point average are the most important predictors of timely degree completion.

The Effect of Loans on the Persistence and Attainment of Community College Students

“…See Alon (2005) and Dowd (2004) for a fuller discussion of how these statistical biases may affect estimates of the effects of financial aid on student outcomes. 3.…”

Helping or Hindering? The Effects of Loans on Community College Student Persistence

“…Findings from these studies provide mixed evidence regarding the effects of loans (i.e. positive, negative, no effect) on student persistence and degree attainment (see Dowd 2004Dowd , 2008Pascarella and Terenzini 2005). These mixed results could be attributed to differences in the samples selected, statistical techniques employed, time period under investigation, and primary outcome variable of interest (Dowd 2008).…”

Financial Aid and Student Dropout in Higher Education: A Heterogeneous Research Approach

“…Loans even have negative effect on African-American students (Perna, 2000). Although another study found no significant difference in the effect of loans by income quartile in a sample of full-time students in the public four-year sector (Dowd, 2004), the author speculated that the failure to find differential effects may be due to the small sample of students in the upper income quartiles.…”