Financial Aid

The SSTAR Lab studies innovative approaches to improving college affordability and the impact of financial aid policies on student outcomes like college completion and student debt.

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Recent Work

  • Student Loan Repayment

    The SSTAR Lab partnered with Arnold Ventures and six research universities to share data on student loan repayment to support ongoing efforts to monitor, assess, and improve loan outcomes of former students. The resulting report, “Evaluating Federal Student Loan Repayment Outcomes at Six Research Universities,” (PDF) highlights key repayment statistics at these universities, including undergraduate…

  • Teacher Pledge Program

    In fall 2020, the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education launched the Teacher Pledge program. This program is designed to strengthen and diversify Wisconsin’s teacher workforce by providing forgivable loans and covering testing/licensing fees to students enrolled in UW–Madison teacher education programs. The program is administered by the School of Education’s Teacher Education Center, and…

  • FAFSA Filing in Wisconsin

    2023 Data Brief: FAFSA Completion Rates Among 12th Graders in Wisconsin Public High Schools This data brief examines FAFSA completion rates for 12th graders in Wisconsin’s public high schools. Its purpose is to establish baseline trends and summarize recent academic research to help inform policies and practices addressing FAFSA filing among high school students. It…