Walla Walla is participating in a nationwide study of youth homelessness led by the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall Center for Children. The study’s supporters, including some Whitman students and alumni, hope that it will give Walla Walla a greater insight into the needs of its homeless population and how those needs can be served.

While Whitman's aid process works for most people, as evidenced by the relatively low average debt with which students leave, it does not work for all. Unusual family circumstances can result in students' aid being cut during their later years in college, when it is more difficult to transfer both emotionally and academically.