The Effects of State Merit Aid Programs on Attendance at Elite Colleges

37 Pages Posted: 12 Oct 2015

See all articles by David L. Sjoquist

David L. Sjoquist

Georgia State University

John V. Winters

Iowa State University - Department of Economics

Abstract

State merit aid programs have been found to reduce the likelihood that students attend college out-of-state. Using the U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities to measure college quality and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data to measure enrollment, we explore how this reduction in out-of-state enrollment differs by the academic quality of the institution. Our results suggest that state merit aid programs do not reduce the likelihood that a student attends a top ranked school, but that these programs do reduce the likelihood of enrolling at less prestigious out-of-state schools, with generally larger effects the lower the ranking of the schools.

Keywords: merit aid, college choice, college quality, elite college

JEL Classification: H31, I22, J24

Suggested Citation

Sjoquist, David L. and Winters, John V., The Effects of State Merit Aid Programs on Attendance at Elite Colleges. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9371, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2672157 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2672157

David L. Sjoquist (Contact Author)

Georgia State University ( email )

P.O. Box 3992
Atlanta, GA 30302-3992
United States
404-413-0246 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://frp.aysps.gsu.edu/sjoquist/index.html

John V. Winters

Iowa State University - Department of Economics ( email )

260 Heady Hall
Ames, IA 50011
United States

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