Fall 2006:

Research team members have compiled 3 one page series of recommendations that the University of California (UC)/California State University (CSU) systems, the school districts and high schools, and the next Governor of California should consider. These recommendations will lead to a significant rise in college admissions which in turn will help stimulate the economy.The three documents are available here:

How to Improve Access to College

A Contract with California's Youth: A Marshall Plan for Increasing Access to College

What School Districts and High Schools Can Do: To Improve the Financial Aid Process for Low-Income Students

Working with students, counselors, parents, community service members, and policy advocates, Mari Luna De La Rosa and William Tierney have compiled six challenges encountered when applying for college and financial aid for low-income students and their families and strategies for overcoming them. Breaking through the Barriers to College can be read here.

Spring 2006:

Two research team members presented papers at the recent American Educational Research Association annual conference in San Francisco. Mari Luna De La Rosa presented Creating the Dream: Financial Aid Awareness and College Aspiration of Low-Income, High-School Students; Paz Oliverez spoke regarding Precarious Paths: The High-School-to-College Transition of Undocumented Students.

Fall 2005:

A draft of Research Statements and Findings on Financial Aid and Awareness is now available here. This draft includes a summary of the data from our fall 2004-spring 2005 survey.

Zoë Corwin and Paz Oliverez will be presenting College Access and Foster Youth and In the Margins: College Access for Undocumented Students at the National College Access Network's 10th Annual Conference in Las Vegas September 25-27, 2005. Mari Luna De La Rosa will be presenting Do Latino boys see a bright future? Latino/a perspectives on college and financial aid at the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute Fall 2005 Conference. Further information on these presentations is available here.

Summer 2005:

Zoë Corwin and Paz Oliverez presented Financial Aid and Urban Schools: Findings From the Field at the Western Association for College Admission Counseling's Summer Institute.

Zoë Corwin presented Financing College for Foster Youth: Challenges and Strategies at the Los Angeles Emancipation Program Partnership.

Several research team members presented Financial Aid and Access: Getting the Word Out--Research Findings and Possible Practices at the Western Association of College Admission Counseling annual conference June 1-3 at Soka University in Aliso Viejo, CA. Presentation materials are available here.

General Facts about College Going: A Resource Guide is now available here.

Spring 2005:

Our monograph, Show Us the Money: Low-income Students, Families, and Financial Aid, is now available. A PDF version is available for download here. For more information, contact CHEPA at 213.740.7218 or chepa@usc.edu.

Several research team members presented on issues of financial aid and college access at the AERA Annual Conference in Montreal. Presentation materials are available here.

Our survey was administered to approximately 3600 students at the urban high schools that are part of our project. The survey information will be released shortly.