Freeman, Kassie. 1997. Increasing African Americans‚ Participation in Higher Education: African American High School Students‚ Perspectives. Journal of Higher Education 68(5): 523—550.
Freeman's study examines how 70 African-American high school students attending a cross section of school types (inner-city, suburban, magnet, and private schools) in five cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.) perceive the barriers to college facing African-American students. Students report two types of barriers, the first being economic, such as not being able to afford college or fearing an insufficient income after completing college. The second type of barrier is psychological, involving intimidation, lack of hope, and the feeling that college is not a realistic option. In response to these barriers, the respondents offer four possible solutions to increase African Americans' participation in higher education: improve the physical/financial capital of schools, provide motivated teachers and counselors as information channels, create strong college aspirations, and change high school curriculum to emphasize African-American cultural awareness. Freeman concludes that the assistance of African-American students in developing solutions that would increase their participation in postsecondary education would be enlightening to policy makers and empowering to the students involved.
Horn, Laura, Xianglei Chen, and Chris Chapman. 2003. Getting Ready to Pay for College: What Students and Their Parents Know About the Cost of College Tuition and What They Are Doing to Find Out. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
Using data from the Parent and Youth Surveys of the 1999 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES:1999), Horn et al. investigate how much college-bound 6th through 12th graders and their parents know about the cost of attending college, and the relationships between their knowledge of college costs and how they go about preparing for college. In particular, the study asks whether parents started to save for their children‚s education, gathered information on financial aid, and knew about various tax credits to help offset costs. A total of 7,910 students from 6th through 12th grade were asked what they know about college costs, academic requirements, and financial aid availability. The authors find that almost all students and their parents plan on the students attending college, but only 18 percent of students and 30 percent of parents obtain information about the cost of college. Overall, both students and parents substantially overestimate tuition amounts, especially for public institutions. Only 25 percent of 11th and 12th graders and 31 percent of their parents are able to provide accurate estimates. The authors also find that parents are more likely to start saving for college as their household income and their child‚s academic standing increases. However, there is no correlation between how soon a student will enroll in college and their parents' plans to pay for college. From the students' end, most report that they discuss the academic requirements of attending college with parents or teachers/counselors; however, less than half of students report discussing college costs or financial aid. In general, there are also varying levels of cost awareness depending on students' grade in high school, racial background, household income, parents' educational level, and extent to which the parent or student actively seeks information about financial aid. The authors conclude that lack of cost awareness is most apparent in younger students, low-income and minority students, and their families. However, parents who are involved in their childrens' school are more likely to have begun saving for college and report a higher awareness of college costs, regardless of income and education levels.
Perna, Laura. 2004. Impact of Student Aid Program Design, Operations, and Marketing on the Formation of Family-Going Plans and Resulting College-Going Behaviors of Potential Students. The Education Resources Institute (TERI). Accessed July 27, 2007, from http://www.teri.org/pdf/research-studies/ReseachReport_Perna.pdf.
Perna summarizes the current literature about the extent to which families are affected by their awareness of college prices and student aid programs, and whether student aid program operations and marketing activities play a role in influencing this awareness. She describes research in four areas: first, the effect of parents on the formation of students‚ college-going aspirations; second, the level of awareness of college prices and financial aid programs among parents and students; third, the effects of this knowledge on rates of actual postsecondary attendance; and fourth, the efficacy of the marketing of student aid programs. The author notes that low-income, African-American, and Latino students and parents are more likely to face economic, social, and psychological barriers that limit parental involvement in developing their child‚s college aspirations and plans. The same population is likely to have limited or incorrect information about college prices and financial aid, which results in a gap between higher educational aspirations and actual college enrollment rates. Finally, Perna suggests that more research is necessary in order to study the timing of awareness of college prices and financial aid so schools can market student aid programs more effectively. She concludes that the first step toward enhancing awareness is to tackle the language barriers among ethnic groups.
Terenzini, Patrick T., Alberto F. Cabrera, and Elena M. Bernal. 2001. Swimming Against the Tide. College Board. Accessed on July 26 2007, from http://www.collegeboard.com/research/pdf/rdreport200_3918.pdf.
This literature review summarizes the current knowledge of low-income students and their encounters with the higher education system, as well as providing new analyses of national databases to fill in existing gaps in the literature. The analyses consist of six sections including the college search, choice, and selection process; a profile of the collegiate experiences of students of low socioeconomic status (SES); persistence and degree completion; learning outcomes; enthusiasm for college and intention to enroll in a postbaccalaureate program; outcomes in job earnings, occupational status, and job satisfaction. The authors conclude with several policy recommendations, such as limiting the effect of socioeconomic status-related inequities in college enrollment and degree completion; reaching parents of low-SES students when children are in the 5th and 6th grades with information about financial aid and college; integrating state agencies, colleges, teachers, parents, and students to sustain degree completion in the long term (grades K through 16); and supplementing state and federal financial aid policies with additional resources to break down barriers to college attendance and completion.
Zarate, Maria Estela and Harry P. Pachon. 2006. Perceptions of College Financial Aid Among California Latino Youth. Los Angeles, CA: Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI).
Using a survey administered to 400 Latino youth between the ages of 18 and 24 in California, Zarate and Pachon examine how the respondents perceive college costs, financial aid access, and benefits and opportunity costs of college attendance, as well as what they know about Cal grants, Pell Grants, and loan instruments. The study finds that nearly all of the respondents believe that it is important to have a college education but that almost 38 percent of the respondents do not believe that the benefits of college outweigh the costs of attending. Regarding access to aid, an overwhelming number of respondents say that financial aid is an important factor in their college plans. However, many of them (including foreign-born permanent residents) are not familiar with sources of financial aid or believe erroneously that students have to be U.S. citizens to apply for financial aid. Few students can correctly estimate the cost of attending a University of California or California State University. Many respondents are unfamiliar with grants and loans as sources of financial aid, and most are unwilling to incur debt for college. Additionally, students cite the complexity of the FAFSA and misconceptions about aid programs as barriers. The authors offer several recommendations, such as encouraging discourse on the benefits of college, correcting perceptions of college costs through media exposure, recognizing that access to Spanish translations is not equivalent to knowledge of financial aid concepts, and understanding that Latino youth are often responsible for taking the initiative in securing financial aid information as well as contributing to the economic well-being of their households.