Affordability of Highly Selective Colleges and Universities II

Using data for 2008/09, we update a 2001/02 study that examined the pricing policies with respect to family income at highly selective private colleges and universities and the distribution of students by family income at these schools. We find significant reductions in net prices relative to sticker prices and incomes across all income quintiles, as expected given financial aid policy changes at these schools in recent years. More interestingly, we find some increase in the share of low-income students at these schools, an increase on average from about 10% to 11% from the bottom 40% of the income distribution. We also find an increase in the share of the student body from the top income quintile receiving financial aid (from about 14.5% to 18% of the student body). The share of all students, aided and non-aided, from the top 20% of the income distribution has remained approximately constant during this period, suggesting that the increase in the share of aided students in this quintile has come from formerly unaided high income students.