Aiding Students, Buying Students: Financial Aid in America

AIDING STUDENTS, BUYING STUDENTS: Financial Aid in America Rupert Wilkinson Vanderbilt University Press, 2005; 336 pp; $39.95.

THE TERM "FINANCIAL AID" IS BANDIED ABOUT in seemingly every higher education discussion these days--but what of the history and purposes behind it? With an understanding of budgetary processes and pressures, this book explores how aid developed in America and plays out for students and schools alike.

Through an engaging narrative, the book's author blends stories with data. Don't be daunted by the fact that the first chapter begins in 1641--this is not a dry recounting of dates and events. Rather, in noting the conflicting purposes of student aid, the book connects past people and events to present ideas and practices. It shows how the story of one gift--to Harvard College from a London philanthropist named Ann Radcliffe--had in it three strands that remain relevant even now: the variety of motives behind financial aid, the dilemma of spending on needy students versus other considerations, and the influence of mission and economic factors.

The book largely focuses on selective private colleges (although it makes important connections for all IHEs). Wilkinson concludes the historical journey with proposals. "The history of financial aid is a roller coaster, not a straight line," he writes. "The important thing is to have new ideas in place for when new opportunities arise."

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