Cost-Saving for Low-Income Students? Does Dual Enrollment Increase College Students’ Scholarships and Grants?

This study examines the relationship between earning dual credits and college students’ scholarships and grants packages and levels, focusing on low-income students. Using nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, I used a quasi-experimental approach to reduce selection bias of DE credit-earning coupled with regression models. The findings indicate that first-year college students with earned DE credits are about 1.5 times more likely to receive scholarships and grants, especially for merit-based aid. On average for the full sample, DE students receive $1,229 more in total scholarships and grants when compared with non-DE students, with $586 more in need-based grants and $502 in merit-based grants. However, for students with low-income backgrounds, having earned DE credits is only positively associated with an increased $1107 in total scholarships and grants and an increased $658 in need-based grant when compared with non-DE low-income students.