Education Commons^™

Higher Education: Can Debt Beat Savings?, David Stackpole

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This paper investigates the possible opportunity cost of using standard college savings plans against the advantages of using debt to pay for college. In addition, it presents a practical argument for using debt in place of college savings plans in certain instances.

By doing so, investors may not only be able to mitigate the difficulty of saving, but also realize greater financial benefit in the long run.

Tennessee's Promise: Education For All?, Tristan M. Hightower

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Access to education has been at the forefront of public policy issues over the past several years. In order to combat relatively low rates of college attainment, Tennessee legislators implemented the Tennessee Promise program. It operates by providing financial aid for any direct costs not covered by students’ grants and scholarships. Notably, the program is not applicable to four-year degree programs; students wishing to utilize the funds must attend select schools that offer certificates and associate’s degrees. Community colleges are the most popular. While a boost in community college attendance has occurred, and more people will likely graduate with an …

Non-U.S. Citizen, Community College Students: Their Federal Student Aid Status, Gender, Achievement, And Persistence At An Emerging Hsi, Jafeth E. Sanchez, Jeannette Smith

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This study presents a quantitative, exploratory analysis of 535 students attending Truckee Meadows Community College in Northern Nevada who were eligible or ineligible for federal student aid and were non-U.S. citizens. Within a snapshot of the Fall 2015 through Fall 2016 semesters, we examined the variables of gender, grade point average (GPA), credits earned, type of financial aid, amount of financial aid, persistence, and graduation status of these two groups via a collaboration between two institutions. Results revealed no statistically significant differences by gender. Non-U.S. citizens attained similar GPAs regardless of eligibility for aid, but there were differences in credit …

An Examination Of The Financial Aid Appeals Process From The Perspectives Of Quality Management And Financial Aid Issues, Susan M.L. Zee, Lillian Y. Fok, Sandra J. Hartman

Essays in Education

In this study, we report findings from a sample of students at a traditionally African American public institution in the South on a key retention issue – appealing denial of financial aid. We present background which suggests that the financial aid area is in a period of uncertainty where “good” information may be difficult for students to find. Our findings suggest that the students in our sample were relatively successful in their appeals but that they did not appear to fully realize the influence of college services in helping them to attain the results. We discuss implications and suggest future …