The Effects of Grant Aid on Social and Academic Integration in Higher Education

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Entering Factors in the Lives of Colleges Students

Abstract

Substantial evidence demonstrates receiving grant aid increases college persistence. However, the mechanisms by which this increased persistence occurs are unknown. We hypothesize that grant aid increases students’ social and academic integration into higher education. We use nationally representative restricted data to identify the causal effects of increased grant aid on academic and social integration by relying on a regression discontinuity design to take advantage of the additional grant aid received for students that fall just below the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) threshold for Pell Grant eligibility compared to those who fall just above the EFC. We find the receipt of Pell Grant had no effects on students’ first to second year persistence or their academic and social integration.

Authors

• Brent Joseph Evans, Vanderbilt University

• Tuan D Nguyen, Vanderbilt University - Peabody College