Back to School: Federal Student Aid Policy and Adult College Enrollment

Much of the research examining the question of how federal financial aid affects decisions to enroll in college has focused on the behavior of students in the relatively narrow range immediately following high school graduation, leaving unanswered the question of how changes in the availability of aid affect the behavior of older students. This analysis examines the question of how changes in the means-tested federal Pell grant program affects enrollment decisions of potential students in their twenties and thirties. Our results indicate sizable effects of the introduction of the Pell grant program on college enrollment decisions for older students.