Rhetoric and Reality: Effects and Consequences of the HOPE Scholarship

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 was a watershed event in the relationship between support for students in higher education and federal tax policy. The Act’s signature initiative, the HOPE Scholarship Program, provides annual benefits to students and their families in unprecedented form through the U.S. Tax Code, and represents a major new direction in federal policies for providing aid to individuals in higher education. This analysis examines the impact of the HOPE Scholarship Program and its effects and consequences on key players in the higher education financing process: students and families, colleges and universities, states, federal higher education policy, and federal tax policy.