Higher Education Strategy Associates  Worst. Student Aid Data
Analysis. Ever.  While flipping through Twitter the other day, I
saw what I am pretty sure is the weakest analysis of student aid
data in history. I won’t prejudice readers by telling you whose
analysis it was (see if you can guess).  Anyways, the analysis
went like this: “60% of student loan borrowers are women!
Tuition fees have a gendered impact!” Honestly, that’s what it
said.  “Gosh,” I wondered. “Could the fact that 60% of borrowers
are women have anything to do with the fact that 58% of
undergraduates are women? Might this in any way explain this
crazy and obviously gendered result?”  “Also, what about
grants,” I thought. “What percentage of grants are given to
women? Surely, if there were some dastardly gendered effect
going on, women would get fewer grants than men, right?”  Well,
the answer depends on what kind of grants we’re talking about.
If we’re talking about merit aid – that is, scholarships –
female students take about a 70% share