Student Choice and Social Mobility through Institutional Policy: An examination of Loan Repayment Assistance Programs

The cost of higher education continues to position young people in a limited choice framework across different countries in western Democracies as young people make decisions about their economic futures. For disadvantaged students, this decision-making process is even more constrained as they consider covering the cost of higher education with insurmountable debt or not pursuing higher learning, and as a result lacking a basic qualification for most white and pink-collar jobs. Governmental policies are not effectively addressing the growing challenge of college affordability, nor are they providing disadvantaged populations with innovative alternatives to fund their education. In this study, we analyse a new institutional level policy in the United States called the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), and provide insight into how these policies affect traditionally disadvantaged students’ choice to enroll in a college or university. Our findings suggest that disadvantaged stude