Impact of Educational Development, Family Income, College Costs, and Financial Aid in Student Choice and Enrollment in College

ACT RESEARCH REPORTNo. 7777Novombor 1976IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, FAMILY INCOME, COLLEGE COSTS, AND FINANCIAL AID IN STUDENT CHOICE AND ENROLLMENT IN COLLEGETHE AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING PROGRAMP. 0. BOX 168, IOWA CITY, IOWA 52240 IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, FAMILY INCOME, COLLEGE COSTS, AND FINANCIAL AID IN STUDENT CHOICE AND ENROLLMENT IN COLLEGEABSTRACTRelationships among student and college characteristics were studied in conjunction with colleges students chose and attended. Two data sets, one of students who were college-bound in 1971-72, and the other of financial aid applicants who were college freshmen in 1972-73, were used. The relation between family income and college cost was examined. The relation of students’ family income and educational development to characteristics of the college attend­ed and chosen was considered. A third issue studied was the interrelationships of various col­lege characteristics, including average student family income, cost, and mean ACT Composite scores. These subjects were addressed using both of the data sets and contrasts in findings are noted where appropriate. Discussion includes review of study limitations and exploration of study implications both for common assumptions about college-going and for research and policy questions. Prepared by the Research and Development Division The American College Testing ProgramACT, a nonprofit organization, is an Equal Opportunity Employer.© 1976 by The American College Testing ProgramAll rights reserved. Printed in the United States of AmericaFor additional copies write:ACT PublicationsThe American College Testing Program P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, Iowa 52240(Check or money order must accompany request.) Price: $1.00Order No. 4-7-77 IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, FAMILY INCOME, COLLEGE COSTS, AND FINANCIAL AID IN STUDENT CHOICE AND ENROLLMENT IN COLLEGELeo A. M undayFor the nation’s college-bound students, it has become a buyer’s market. Most colleges are con­cerned about enrollments; no longer can the typical college select its students from a vast pool of appli­cants. Now, instead, the student may choose among a number of alternative colleges.Despite this trend, very little is known about how and how well students choose or match them­selves to colleges and universities. Although much is known about individual differences among students and about individual differences among colleges, the ways the two “ mesh” are obscure.Given certain characteristics of college-going students (such as their educational development and their family income) and given certain characteristics of colleges (such as costs, average educational development of the student body, and average family income of the student body), howare college-bound students distributed in various colleges and universities? What college charac­teristics act as barriers and which as magnets to student enrollment? What is the impact of financial aid on these relationships?Educators make a number of assumptions about the relationships among student income, student educational development, and college costs. Undoubtedly, these assumptions vary in their validity, but very little information is available to help answer the many questions of educational and social policy related to such assumptions. The pur­pose of this study is to examine objective informa­tion about the relationships among these variables both for a national sample of college-bound students and for a sample of college-bound students who were also financial aid applicants.MethodData Set 1: College-Bound StudentsTwo samples of college students were used. The first sample consisted of college students who for the most part were first-time freshmen in fall 1972. Most of these students had written the ACT Assess­ment in 1971-72 as high school seniors. The sample was drawn from the rosters of the ACT Class Pro­file Service prepared for 1,200 colleges and univer­sities on their freshmen who enrolled in fall 1972. By sampling after college entry, we were able toobtain information about college attendance as well as about student characteristics from the basic ACT Assessment record. For each of the 1,200 institutions, student records were ordered either by Social Security number or alphabetically. Every tenth record was pulled for the study. The result­ing student sample approximated a 10% sample ofThis report was prepared when the author was ACT Vice President of Research and Development. Dr. Munday is now Vice President tor the Test Department of the Houghton Mifflin Company.1 freshmen attending A C T -p a rtic ip a tin g p os