Processing the Poor: The Financial Aid Climate at Community Colleges

• In Event: Demystifying Financial Aid in Higher Education

Abstract

This study examines students’ perceptions of their financial aid experience and interaction with institutional actors who hold power and influence in how students tap into these critical resources. We highlight problems with financial aid processes and examine how criteria imposed on institutions by state and federal policies inhibit access and perpetuate inequalities.

Authors

• Natacha Marcia Cesar-Davis, University of California - Los Angeles

• Cecilia Rios Aguilar, University of California - Los Angeles

• Regina J. Deil-Amen, The University of Arizona

• Devon Lomes Graves, University of California - Los Angeles

• Adrian H. Huerta, University of Southern California