Students from low-income backgrounds are increasingly unaware of sources of additional financial aid and regularly overestimate academic costs because of misconceptions stemming from media coverage of the high cost of attending college, according to a paper released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The study, “Information Constraints and Financial Aid Policy,” highlighted problems students face when evaluating the financial cost of college. It focused on underprivileged, degree-seeking students who lack the necessary information to excel academically, Judith Scott-Clayton, author of the paper and Asst. Prof. of economics and education at Columbia University, said in an email.

Christian Steinmetz, the Education School’s Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education program coordinator, said her 10 years of experience working with lower-income students reflects the difficulty students from such backgrounds have with the financial aid process.

“Students from low economic backgrounds don’t have the same understanding and knowledge of college,” Steinmetz said. “The financial aid process can be difficult because it is something completely new, and at many times, students do not know what they are eligible for.”

Scott-Clayton added that the complexity of financial aid systems often inversely affects the programs’ effectiveness.

“There is a pattern of findings, that simple financial aid programs seem to have a better record of demonstrated impacts than do programs with complicated rules and application procedures, like the federal financial aid programs,” she said.

One problem with complex financial aid systems such as the Pell Grant Program and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Scott-Clayton said, is they do not give students and their families enough information about how much aid they will receive until students are too far into the college decision process.

Scott-Clayton said colleges should employ informational interventions, early commitment programs and an overall simplification of the Pell Grant Program to help students become more informed.

Dean of Admission Greg Roberts said the University has offered many initiatives to help potential students in the college application process, including adopting a non-binding early action admission plan to give students from low-income backgrounds more time to receive financial aid information. The plan allows all potential students to apply early and then receive a financial aid award before the May 1 deposit deadline.

Roberts said the plan enables students’ families to compare University admission and financial aid offers to those of other schools.

“Each year we see more students applying for admission who are seeking financial aid, and the number of students enrolling from low-income backgrounds has increased over the last several years,” Roberts said.

Amy Anderson, Charlottesville High School’s career coach, has implemented Scott-Clayton’s suggestions. “The FAFSA can be intimidating, [but] it used to be worse,” she said.