TY  - JOUR
AB  - Social welfare programs, including college financial aid, often only reach a fraction of eligible beneficiaries. We examine this problem through the lens of Michigan’s Tuition Incentive Program (TIP), a state need-based grant aid program. We conduct a large-scale mixed-methods study using data on over one million Michigan public-school students, and 55 interviews with front-line administrators, high school counselors, and financial aid staff. We find that while one third of Michigan high school graduates are eligible for TIP, its take-up rate is only 14 percent, diminishing its impact on college affordability. We identify key barriers that shape take-up: the presence of administrative burdens, and constraints faced by front-line administrators in alleviating these burdens when administrative responsibility is fractured and ill-defined.
AU  - Burland, Elizabeth 
AU  - Camo-Biogradlija, Jasmina 
AU  - Ferrara-Gerson, Kelcie 
AU  - Fields, Xavier 
AU  - Michelmore, Katherine 
AU  - Sotherland, Nathan 
AU  - Stange, Kevin
AU  - Thompson, Marissa 
AU  - Tompkins-Stange, Megan 
PY  - 2025
ST  - Bureaucracy and Burden: Understanding Take-up of a Need-Based Financial Aid Program
TI  - Bureaucracy and Burden: Understanding Take-up of a Need-Based Financial Aid Program
UR  - http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1283
ER  -