Horn, Laura, Xianglei Chen, and Chris Chapman. 2003. <em>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.</em> Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.<br />
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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&#8218;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&#8218;s academic standing increases. However, there is no correlation between how soon a student will enroll in college and their parents&#8218; plans to pay for college. From the students&#8218; 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&#8218; grade in high school, racial background, household income, parents&#8218; 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&#8218; school are more likely to have begun saving for college and report a higher awareness of college costs, regardless of income and education levels. <br />
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Long, Bridget Terry. 2004. <em>The Role of Perceptions and Information in College Access: An Exploratory Review of the Literature and Possible Data Sources.</em> The Education Resources Institute (TERI). Accessed on July 26, 2007, from http://teri.org/pdf/research-studies/ReseachReport_Long.pdf.<br />
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In her literature review, Long assesses what is currently known about the role of college cost perceptions on college access and choice, as well as the impact of financial aid knowledge. In particular, she presents findings from more than 10 surveys and evaluates whether these data sets can be useful for future analyses. She notes that most surveys assume that the existence of financial aid should encourage college enrollment by reducing cost anxieties, but that studies have largely failed to present convincing evidence of this assumption. Long&#8218;s review of the literature also suggests that many students and families have little financial aid and college cost information, and many who do have some knowledge overestimate tuition and have incorrect information about financial aid. Long argues that these studies fail to establish a causal relationship between students having information about postsecondary education and their college decisions. However, she suggests that existing surveys might contribute to future analyses. In particular, the HSB, 1999 NHES, NELS88, 2002 ELS, and National GEAR UP surveys have a great deal of information on students&#8218; perspectives of college prices, but the data sets are often outdated and do not include longitudinal or directly relevant data. Long concludes that more research is necessary for policymakers to devise programs that are effective at increasing students&#8218; and parents&#8218; awareness of college prices.