Abstract Summary/Description
Throughout the 21st century colleges, universities and the state legislatures that support them have dedicated millions of dollars to merit-based scholarships aimed at recruiting "high ability" students and preventing brain drain (when said students leave home for an out of state institution). While this idea has a net benefit on the surface level, it has actually caused some disruption in the ability for low-income students, from rural and urban settings alike, to attend and finish college. By taking a look at America's past we can see viable solutions that should inform our future and one of those solutions includes redesigning state and local aid packages to focus on students of high-need first.
