Scientific Evidence & Student Success

Sara Goldrick-Rab
7 min readFeb 1

What would you do if a large and rigorous federally-funded experiment found that your university’s financial aid practice didn’t move the needle or promote equity for students?

Today in the Chronicle of Higher Education, veteran reporter Goldie Blumenstyk grapples with that question stemming from my latest co-authored research study.

The practice? Completion grants — funds distributed by a university to students who seem to be nearing the finish line, about to finish their degrees, but potentially stuck due to a financial shortfall.

Sara Goldrick-Rab

Author of Paying the Price, founder of the #RealCollege movement, the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, and Believe in Students