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Buying time: Financial aid allows college students to work less while enrolled

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  • Anderson, Drew M.
  • Zaber, Melanie A.

Abstract

Many empirical studies have found that financial aid improves college attainment. Few have been able to test why. This study used administrative records of employment and earnings to get a more complete picture of students’ finances during college and test one potential mechanism: financial aid buys students time by allowing them to work less in off-campus jobs. We studied recipients of New Jersey’s need-based Tuition Aid Grant (TAG). We used the eligibility cutoffs of TAG to identify groups of otherwise similar students who received sharply different amounts of aid. A prior study took the same approach and found that TAG increased on-time graduation rates from public universities. At these schools, 80 percent of TAG recipients worked at some point during the year. This study found that when students received additional aid, on average they reduced earnings dollar for dollar.

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  • Anderson, Drew M. & Zaber, Melanie A., 2025. "Buying time: Financial aid allows college students to work less while enrolled," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:108:y:2025:i:c:s0272775725000664
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102686
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