External Research

ATHEFA’s work is grounded in research showing that higher education can improve economic mobility, strengthen families and communities, and expand long-term opportunity for disadvantaged youth. This page brings together external research, reports, and data sources that help explain the barriers many students face in accessing higher education, provide statistics on current trends, and outline the broader social and economic benefits that can follow when those barriers are reduced.

These resources are not produced by ATHEFA, but they help inform our approach: locally grounded, needs-based scholarships designed to remove the practical financial barriers that prevent capable students from continuing their education.