Early impacts of college aid

Abstract

We analyze the impact of an expansion in government aid for higher education in Chile in a sample of elementary and high school students. Using students who had an alternative source of funding as a control group, and administrative records before and after the reform, we present evidence that students are affected in different ways. First, we show that parents of students who ex ante were more likely to be credit restricted are more likely after the reform to report that their child ends up completing college. Second, we find that students in the same groups that increase their college expectations, obtain a score in high-stakes examination that actually qualified them for college aid. Third, we find that lifting future credit restrictions reduces the probability of dropping out of high school.