The impact of college cost on low-income students at private (not-for-profit), four-year institutions in New England

It is clear that the public and policymakers are questioning the value of a college education in terms of attainment and affordability. The goal of the study was to examine the impact of college cost on low-income students at private (not-for-profit), four-year institutions in New England from 2006 through 2011. By examining price, institutional characteristics, financial aid, and student persistence, the study identified through a series of descriptive statistics, crosstabulations, and regression analyses those factors that affected the graduation rates of low-income students pre- and post-implementation of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA).;The results of the study demonstrated that while private colleges in New England increased their sticker price, tuition discounting was a common practice to help maximize net tuition revenue and enrollment objectives. The implementation of the HEOA did very little to affect college cost for low-income students as institutions executed the Bennett Hypothesis. The data analysis demonstrated that while private colleges were enrolling a larger number of First-Time, First-Year Federal Pell Grant recipients as a percent of their total financial aid population for new students, graduation rates were stagnant for this population.;A series of regional analyses revealed that First-Time, First-Year Federal Pell Grant students were most at risk for high levels of student indebtedness as a result of institutional financial aid priorities and low 6-year graduation rates. While colleges and universities have complied with the financial and regulatory requirements of the HEOA, many of the disclosure components need to become mandatory reporting requirements.;While federal financial aid policies attempt to address issues of efficiency and equity, institutional priorities often run contradictory to these objectives. The movement from need- to merit-based institutional aid is also affecting low-income students and shifting more of the financial responsibility to the student and their families. As a result, low-income students are borrowing from federal and private sources to meet their educational expenses. As colleges have continued to engage in the Bennett Hypothesis and the purchasing power of the Federal Pell Grant has declined, low-income students are at risk of not achieving the dream of a college education.