This study examines how state merit-based scholarships individually and simultaneously with prepaid tuition plans influence the interstate migration of collegebound freshmen. State freshman migration percentages were examined over a 10-year period. Results of an interrupted time-series model suggested that students generally respond to merit-based tuition aid in accordance with our initial prediction based on factors influencing student choice in attending postsecondary institutions. More specifically, many students choose to attend an in-state college in order to be eligible for state merit-based scholarships. Moreover, for home states that adopted both merit-based scholarships and prepaid tuition contracts, student out-migration was further reduced over time.Keywords College financial aid Á Freshman college migration Á Merit-based college scholarships Á Prepaid-tuition Á Policy analysis Á Growth modeling State educational policy is a complex and dynamic process involving normative beliefs, value preferences, goals, and resource commitments (Firestone 1989). One current educational problem facing state governments concerns their ability to continue to provide adequate postsecondary education in the face of rising higher education needs and expectations, changing student demographics and enrollment patterns, and increasing educational costs. Rising costs of obtaining a college education place a greater financial burden on students and their parents, decrease student participation in higher education, and challenge state legislatures to find ways to hold down tuition and provide increased