The Varying Impacts of Merit-Aid Policy Design on Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation at Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities

This study examines whether and which aspects of statewide merit-aid policies influence students’ enrollment, retention, and completion outcomes at public four-year institutions, before exploring the influence of discontinuing merit aid on student outcomes. Using a novel dataset capturing details of merit-based aid policies for public four-year institutions over nearly two decades, we find suggestive evidence that merit-aid adoption is related to postsecondary enrollment, retention, and completi