Beyond the Enrollment Gap

High-achieving, low-income students persist in higher education at lower rates than their high-income peers, raising questions about what drives these post-enrollment gaps. Most financial aid research examines the U.S. setting, despite many countries combining modest tuition with living cost support. I study a generous French merit-and-need grant using a regression discontinuity design. Because eligibility is communicated too late to affect enrollment, I can cleanly identify effects on already-enrolled students. I find precisely estimated null effects on persistence, degree completion, and graduate degree enrollment. These results suggest that high-achieving students may be less sensitive to financial aid than lower performing peers.