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Nicholas Popowitch
Mrs. Scaife
Composition II
25 Oct. 2016
Improving College Financial Accessibility For Lower Income Families.
Earlier this semester, I began to look into the various issues facing college students in
America. My research led me to extensive writing on the topic, including academic
preparedness, dropout rates, and access to financial aid. All of had their merits on how to effect
change in todays collegiate environment, but it was an article from the Washington Post from
October of 2015, written by Jeff Guo1 that caught my attention. In Guos article, he takes us
through a day in life of Morgan State University freshman Terrell Kellam. Kellam came from a
low income neighborhood, and while his hardships are many, his most daunting obstacle is
paying for the college he attends. His financial aid through FAFSA and the Pell Grant only
covers 80 percent of his tuition, and that doesnt include room or board, so he must commute
from his home over an hour away. He is fortunate to have members of his community working
hard to help him find a way to cover the rest of his tuition, but even so he runs the risk of
becoming another dropout statistic every semester. This young mans struggle is why I decided to
focus my research on financial aid, and what steps we can take to improve the ease and
transparency for all college hopefuls. Here, I will give several examples of programs that can
improve the success rate for students seeking financial aid, and how assistance in navigating
these application processes is key to enrolment success. I will also explore the promising future
of tuition-free college with programs like Redeeming Americas Promise, a bipartisan effort to
ensure college accessibility to all Americans. Specifically, I will discuss how even this hopeful

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future initiative will require a community-based initiative to guide students through the
application process.
To understand the the importance of assisting students in their financial aid process, I first
defer to the numbers, which are startling. In a 2004 analysis of FAFSA enrollment and usage,
J.E. Kings paper, Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid2,
highlights how enrollment in financial aid, particularly with lower income students, is extremely
low. This paper shows how one in five low income students do not apply for financial aid
through FAFSA (King, 10). When interviewed, the 39% of independent and 29% of dependent
students identified as low income stated their reason for not filing was that their families could
not afford to pay (King, 4-5). These statistics, matched with the reasons given by these students,
point out what I believe to be the greatest impediment for enrollment in lower class college
potentials. The lack of transparency in the federal financial aid system, as well as a lack of
comprehension regarding the college financial structure, lead many potential college students
falsely perceive college as unaffordable.
It is worth noting, that since Kings report in 2004, federal expenditures have risen from
$16.5 billion in 2004 to $30.3 billion in 2015, according to collegeboard.orgs analysis of
expenditure reports from the US Department of Education3. The number of recipients also
increased from 5.3 million to 8.2 million in that time, as well. A 2015 Collegeboard.org report4
also showed a $2920 increase in grant aid per student between 2004 and 2015. This represents
hopeful direction in the availability, total, and usage of federal financial aid, as well as an
improved usage for students of all income levels. This number still falls short of the total cost of
enrollment in many cases. An example of this is given in Guos 2014 article in the Washington
Post1. At Morgan State University in Maryland, most students fall short of the total cost of

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enrollment by 20%, even after conventional grant and loan solutions are applied (Guo, para 2021). This means that even if students are able to successfully navigate the federal aid process,
they must rely on family or, in many cases, work a job to cover the remainder.
One solution to navigating the FAFSA process presents itself in a 2012 research project
conducted by Eric Bettinger and associates in which they coordinated with H&R Block to assist
in FAFSA enrollment5. In this experiment, low-income families filing their taxes with H&R
Block were also offered FAFSA assistance. Subjects were divided into three groups: a control
group, which received no assistance; an information-only test group, which received information
about how to enroll, and their expected eligibility: and an assisted group, which received help in
completing their FAFSA application (Bettinger 1211). Of the three groups, the control groups
and the information-based group showed little difference, with a 39% rate of FAFSA enrollment
(Bettinger, 1236-38). The assisted group, however, showed a drastic improvement in enrollment,
students in this group had a 40% higher chance to enroll in FAFSA than the other two groups
(Bettinger, 1236-38). The costs of this service, at highest estimate, would be $88 per participant,
but considering that the two-year benefit of this service would be $8,750 for dependants, and
$14,150 for independants(Bettinger, 1238), this fee seems negligible, especially considering that
the fee could be deducted from gross tax return like any other preparation fee.
Admittedly, this is a more capitalistic solution to the issue of FAFSA navigation. But
based upon the results of Bettingers experiment, it would improve the enrollment rates in lower
income students substantially. There are also opportunities for nonprofit implementation in the
future. Such organizations could work in conjunction with low income high schools to provide
this service free to qualifying students. There is also an opportunity to address the issue
presented by Kings research, in which students declined to enroll because they believed they

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could not afford higher education (King, 5). Nonprofit groups could work with local colleges to
generate total enrollment costs. In this way, students would be able to see a side-by-side
comparison of their expected aid and the costs of higher education in their region. When students
are able to see the financial viability of college, the illusion of an insurmountable financial
barrier could be removed.
Another hurdle in the financial viability of college for lower income households is the
recent trend towards merit-based aid. In a 2007 paper6, Bridget Terry Long and Erin Riley
addressed the recent trend towards awarding aid based on merit, and not need based (Long and
Riley, 44-47). While this trend more evenly shifts aid across all demographics, it neglects lower
income students, whose families lack income necessary to supplement their childrens education
financially. Another consideration this paper offers is that high schools in more affluent areas are
more capable of helping students achieve test scores necessary to be eligible for these merit
based funds. I believe this represents a rift in population. While it can be said that needs based
financial aid places the greatest burden on middle class families, who would qualify for less aid
while lacking the financial stability of upper class households, the future halting of lower class
population growth, has a greater chance of improving the economic stability of future
generations.
The solution to this problem, I believe, lies in political action. By informing our
politicians at the state and federal level that the future of our higher education system should
focus on more needs based financial aid, we can directly affect the policies that will be set in
place.
As shown by the recent growth in federal aid availability,4, we have seen a recent
improvement in college enrollment in our country. But as demonstrated in Guos article1, this

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federal aid often falls short of the mark. One promising solution for the future is movement to
make college free. One such example of these efforts is the nonprofit organization Redeeming
Americas Promise (RAP). RAP has begun to lobby for the Americas Promise Scholarship
(APS). According to an article by Rebecca Prinster7, this program would provide $2500 per year
for community college, and $8500 per year for public four-year institutions to students whose
family income is less than $185,000 annually (Prinster, para 5). This is RAPs first major goal in
a long-term initiative to provide free tuition to all students attending public schools, regardless of
their family incomes (Prinster, para 2). These policies would require the approval of Congress.
While I support initiatives like RAP and APS, I believe that this kind of policy will meet
with much resistance from lawmakers and their constituents who do not approve of this level of
government spending. Republican legislators from Tennessee, for example, encourage states to
take the initiative at the state level while rejecting President Obamas America's College Promise,
a plan based upon Tennessee's own free community college program8. Prinster does mention that
RAP includes in its mission statement that their policies should be enacted without raising
federal taxes (Prinster, para 3), but I believe this kind of policy and reform, and the necessary
bipartisanship needed to enact it, will be difficult to bring about in today's turbulent political
climate. While these changes should be encouraged, we must focus on making college available
to students with the resources we currently possess.
Through my review of the extensive research and data existing on the subject of
secondary education finance, I have gained a firm grasp on ways in which our existing federal
aid system can be made accessible to prospective students, especially those from lower income
families. Reflecting upon Gous article, I believe that the key to success lies in strong community
initiative. I believe, like Long and Riley6, the financial needs of college students are best met

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through focusing on needs based financial aid for college. Here, we offer the most good to the
greatest number of students. Through the work of Eric Bettinger and associates5, we can help the
next generation of students navigate the confusing process of FAFSA application with the
employment of professional assistance. This initiative would bring experts into high schools to
educate students about the process and walk them through the application paperwork.
Furthermore, programs like this can be extended to the nonprofit arena, and coupled with efforts
to increase student education and awareness at the high school level, alleviating some of the
concerns and issues brought up by the research of King2. We can also take up the initiative of
organizations like Redeeming Americas Promise, laying the path for a future where financial
viability of college is no longer in question. These steps and more can be taken to make the next
generation of Americans the most educated and productive members of society in our nations
history.

Works Cited
1. Guo, Jeff. Why poor kids dont stay in college. washingtonpost.com. WP Company Llc.
20 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Sept 2016.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/10/20/why-poor-kids-dont
-stay-in-college/>
2. King, Jacqueline E. Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid.
ACE Issue Brief. American Council on Education, October 2004. Web. 20 Oct. 2016

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<https://www.soe.vt.edu/highered/files/Perspectives_PolicyNews/10-04/2004FAFSA.pdf>
3. Total Pell Grant Expenditures and Number of Recipients Over Time. Trends in Higher
Education. Collegeboard.org, 2016. Web. 22 Aug. 2016
<https://trends.collegeboard.org/student-aid/figures-tables/pell-grants-total-expendituresmaximum-and-average-grant-and-number-recipients-over-time>
4. Baum, Sandy., et al. Trends in Student Aid 2015. Trends in Student Aid. Collegeboard.org,
2015. Web. 22 Aug. 2016
<http://trends.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/trends-student-aid-web-final-508-2.pdf>
5. Bettinger, Eric P., et al. "The Role Of Application Assistance And Information In College
Decisions: Results From The H&R Block Fafsa Experiment." Quarterly Journal Of
Economics 127.3 (2012): 1205-1242. Business Source Complete. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
<http://0-search.ebscohost.com.iii-server.ualr.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN7
9311107&site=eds-live>

6. Long, Bridget T., and Erin Riley. Financial Aid: A Broken Bridge to College Access?
Harvard Educational Review 77.1 (2007): 39-63. ERIC. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
<http://0-search.ebscohost.com.iii-server.ualr.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&
AN=EJ765961&site=eds-live>
7. Prinster, Rebecca. "Redeeming America's Promise Unveils Plans To Make College Free."
Insight Into Diversity 83.4/5 (2014): 5. Business Source Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2016.
<http://0-search.ebscohost.com.iii-server.ualr.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=97139738&site=eds-live>
8. Hoye,Matthew., and Diamond, Jeremy. Can Obamas Community College Plan Get Through

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College? CNN.com, 10 Jan. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/09/politics/obama-community-college-fate/>