Does Financial Aid Enhance Undergraduate Persistence?

The impact of financial assistance on students' decisions on whether to discontinue college studies was investigated. Students enrolled in either twoor four-year institutions were included. Grants, loans, and college work-study funds were considered as financial aid. A casual model was used to illustrate how withdrawal was affected by interacting variables, and path analysis was used to test the model's validity. The following variables were assessed: socioeconomic status, race, sex, academic aptitude, high school grade point average, occupational aspiration, degree level goal, college performance, institutional characteristics, and receipt of financial aid. The primary data source was the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Of the sample of 4,838 students who entered college in the fall 1972, 36.4 percent were identified as dropouts. It was found financial aid was linked to completion of degrees, and was the third most important direct influence on persistence. Two variables had stronger direct effects on persistence: high school grade point average and degree-level goal. (SW)