Crafting a Class: The Trade Off between Merit Scholarships and Enrolling Lower-Income Students

27 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2005 Last revised: 3 Apr 2022

See all articles by Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

ILR-Cornell University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Liang Zhang

Pennsylvania State University

Jared M. Levin

Cornell University

Date Written: June 2005

Abstract

Our paper uses institutional-level panel data to testwhether an increase in the number of institutionally funded National Merit Scholarship (NMS) winners at an institution isassociated with a reduction in the number of Pell Grant recipients at the institution. We find that, other factors held constant, an increase in the share of institutionally funded NMS winners in an institution's first-year class is associated with a reduction in the share of Pell Grant recipients among the institution's undergraduate student body and that the magnitude of this relationship is larges at the institutions that enroll the greatest number of NMS students.

Suggested Citation

Ehrenberg, Ronald G. and Zhang, Liang and Levin, Jared M., Crafting a Class: The Trade Off between Merit Scholarships and Enrolling Lower-Income Students (June 2005). NBER Working Paper No. w11437, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=752015

Ronald G. Ehrenberg (Contact Author)

ILR-Cornell University ( email )

Higher Education Research Institute
Ithaca, NY 14853-3901
United States
607-255-3026 (Phone)
607-255-4496 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
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Germany

Liang Zhang

Pennsylvania State University ( email )

University Park
State College, PA 16802
United States

Jared M. Levin

Cornell University ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

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