Does free tuition impact academic performance of low-income undergraduate students? A response to Barroilhet, Silva and Quiroga

This article responds to the critiques formulated by Barroilhet, Silva, and Quiroga (2026) on our study examining the relationship between free tuition and academic performance in Chilean higher education. The commentary raises concerns regarding the interpretation of results, the treatment of missing data and attrition, the construction of financial aid categories, and the generalizability of the findings. In this response, we clarify key aspects of our research design and provide additional empirical analyses to assess the robustness of the results published last year by Higher Education. We implement inverse probability weighting (IPW) models to account for potential selection bias arising from differential attrition. The results remain highly consistent across specifications in terms of direction, magnitude, and statistical significance. We argue that the concerns raised primarily affect interpretation and scope rather than the validity of the empirical findings. Overall, the evidence supports the robustness of the original results and reinforces the study’s relevance for understanding the relationship between financial aid and academic performance and its implications for equity in higher education.