Institutional Variation in Enrollment of Low-income Students

Abstract

Socioeconomic diversity in tertiary education has come under heightened scrutiny in the past few years. This paper estimates the relationship between prices (both sticker price and net price), financial aid policies, and selectivity on the variation of low-income students across postsecondary institutions. All three factors are significant in identifying variation across postsecondary institutions in the representation of Pell Grant recipients as a percentage of an institution’s entering class. A focus on net price alone ignores the correlation between sticker price, selectivity, and financial aid policies on low-income students’ enrollment outcomes.