To improve college access for low-income students, an increasing number of public colleges and universities have implemented no-loan policies, where student loans are replaced with institutional grant aid that does not require repayment. Using detailed income measures provided by Mobility Report Card data, this study examines the effect of no-loan policies on student economic diversity at public 4-year institutions. Using a difference-in-differences design and the synthetic control method, we found that the adoption of no-loan policies at public institutions increased enrollment shares of low-income students (bottom two family income quintiles). However, the increase was minimal for students from the lowest income quintile, particularly at the most selective institutions. Our findings suggest that although no-loan policies may help improve affordability at public colleges and universities, further efforts are needed to address underrepresentation of students from the lowest part of the income distribution.

为了改善低收入学生的大学入学率，越来越多的公立大学实施了无贷款政策，即用不需要偿还的机构补助金代替学生贷款。本研究使用流动报告卡数据提供的详细收入指标，研究了免贷款政策对公立4年制大学学生经济多样性的影响。通过使用差异设计和综合控制方法，我们发现公共机构采取无贷款政策增加了低收入学生的入学率（两个家庭收入的五分之一）。但是，对于收入最低的五分之一群体的学生而言，增幅微乎其微，尤其是在最挑剔的院校中。