The impact of a promise: A loan replacement grant, low-income students, and college graduation

This study examines the impact of Illinois Promise, a loan replacement grant for low-income students, on college graduation within five years. A quasi-experimental design using propensity score matching is employed for first-time, full-time students enrolled as freshman from fall, 2007 through fall, 2009. Eligibility criteria are used to construct the comparison group of one-to-one matches for a total of 414 students. Results show the odds ratio of graduating within five years is 2.4 times more likely for I-Promise students in relation to the low-income comparison group. Policy and practice implications are discussed.