Conference

How Financial Aid Impacts Minority Students at Iowa State University

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Abstract

As minority student recruitment and retention rates are increasing on college campuses across the country; students often lack information on their eligibility for financial aid and the amount of aid they would be likely to receive. A question that is often posed is how does financial aid impact minority students' participation in higher education? Understanding the impact of financial aid is important because there is growing evidence that students may respond differently to tuition and subsidies in their persistence decisions than they can in their first-time enrollment decisions. Student aid, along with college pricing, affects persistence, as it does first-time enrollment decisions; however, it does not have the same impact. A financial aid package that is sufficient to attract a student to a college may not be sufficient to keep her or him there once faced with the realities of the cost of living at the college of choice. A college can recruit and retain academically talented or inclined minority students if it provides appropriate academic programs and adequate financial aid (St. John, 2000; Ross, 1991; Murdock & Hague, 1991; Cabrera et al., McPherson & Shapiro, 1998; St. John, Cabrera, Nora, & Asker, 1994).

This session will highlight the history of financial aid, programs that assist minority students, the importance of having financial aid officers competent enough to provide minority students and their parents adequate information about their financial aid package, and implications and recommendations for students and financial aid offices. There will be Iowa State University financial aid officers and minority students who have interacted with the financial aid office on a panel to answer a few questions after the research has been presented.