A new report evaluates state financial aid programs and identifies how certain criteria for awarding aid can lock out students from historically marginalized communities.
Student Economics Archive
Applicants, colleges on hold as FAFSA frustrations continue
U.S. colleges and universities are offering support and extending admissions deadlines to ensure applicants, especially those from low-income and other historically underrepresented backgrounds, have the time they need to consider financial aid packages.
President’s 2025 budget proposal calls for free community college, Pell Grant increases
The Biden Administration’s new funding proposal revisits a plan for free community college, includes additional funding for Pell Grants, and calls for greater investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority-Serving Institutions.
The end of race-conscious scholarships?
The debate around the scope of last year’s Supreme Court ruling ending race-based affirmative action in college admissions has allowed state policymakers to push for the end of scholarships that consider applicants’ race.
New Mexico to invest nearly $1B in tuition-free program
This month, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law “the largest higher education trust fund in the nation,” which will provide New Mexico residents with free college tuition for decades to come.
Students affected by war in Ukraine find support, community at Georgetown
Recipients of the Gracias Family Sunflower Current Use Scholarship, which supports students whose lives have been disrupted by the war in Ukraine, reflect on the opportunities they have found at Georgetown University, and how they are preparing to help rebuild their homeland.
$1B gift to Bronx medical school provides students with free tuition in perpetuity
The transformational gift to Albert Einstein College of Medicine from a former professor and widow of a Wall Street financier is the largest made to any medical school in the U.S., the college says.
First-of-its-kind report explores impact of the Post-9/11 GI Bill®
A new analysis looks at the use and outcomes of the Post-9/11 GI Bill®, which pays for school or career training for military-connected students and their families.
Scholarship fund supports military-connected students preparing for public sector careers
A recent $200,000 gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies will help eliminate tuition expenses for military-connected students at the McCourt School of Public Policy.
The access and transparency implications of differential tuition
Colleges and universities with differential tuition policies, in which students pay more for certain majors, are working to ensure they don’t create unintended barriers for students of color and first-generation, low-income college students.
Community college students face financial obstacles to staying enrolled
A new survey of stopped-out and currently enrolled community college students finds that work obligations and college costs are major reasons why they leave their programs. Policies focused on reducing financial barriers can help.
School of Medicine student receives ‘life-changing’ scholarship
Amanda Wibben, MTS (M’26), winner of the 2023-24 Lawrence Dean Scholarship, has shown her dedication to caring for local communities and working to reduce global health inequities.