Abstract: This article examines the experience of low-income college students interacting with financial aid processes and staff from a novel perspective: psychological dehumanization. Students in this study received a last-dollar grant to cover all of their tuition and fees at an institution of higher education, though not their housing, food, and book expenses. By drawing on students’ reporting of technological and verbal communication with financial aid and utilizing narrative inquiry, we re-conceptualize financial aid practice as a fundamentally dehumanizing one that can alienate low-income students from higher education institutions. We conclude with recommendations for practice for institutions as we work to make education more accessible for students from all income levels.
Kulesza et al. (Fri,) studied this question.