The Role of Application Assistance and Information in College Decisions: Results from the H&R Block Fafsa Experiment*

2012 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 1205-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric P. Bettinger ◽  
Bridget Terry Long ◽  
Philip Oreopoulos ◽  
Lisa Sanbonmatsu
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
College Attendance ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Student Aid ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Personal Assistance ◽  
College Going ◽  
Randomized Field Experiment ◽  
Improved Outcomes ◽  
Information Treatment

Abstract Growing concerns about low awareness and take-up rates for government support programs like college financial aid have spurred calls to simplify the application process and enhance visibility. We present results from a randomized field experiment in which low-income individuals receiving tax preparation help were also offered immediate assistance and a streamlined process to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for themselves or their children. Treated participants were also provided with aid estimates that were compared against tuition cost amounts for nearby colleges. The combined assistance and information treatment substantially increased FAFSA submissions and ultimately the likelihood of college attendance, persistence, and aid receipt. In particular, high school seniors whose parents received the treatment were 8 percentage points more likely to have completed two years of college, going from 28% to 36%, during the first three years following the experiment. Families who received aid information but no assistance with the FAFSA did not experience improved outcomes. The findings suggest many other opportunities for using personal assistance to increase participation in programs that require filling out forms to become eligible.

Money, Equity, and College Access

1992 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Orfield
Keyword(s):  
Minority Students ◽  
College Access ◽  
Low Income ◽  
College Education ◽  
College Attendance ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Student Aid ◽  
Poor Students ◽  
The Relationship

In this article, Gary Orfield explores the nature of the relationship between money and access to college, particularly for minority and poor students. Decades after a massive federal government commitment to making a college education available to all, Orfield contends, minority and low-income access is declining, and financial aid is going to middle-class students who could manage without it. Orfield relates how the goal of making higher education accessible to all got sidetracked as he chronicles the policy debate over student aid through the 1980s and early 1990s. He tells a story of political opportunism, insufficient outreach, bureaucratic insensitivity, and a failure to distinguish cultural differences with regard to borrowing — a story of institutions and faculties protecting themselves through tuition increases without seriously debating social consequences. It is not, however,a story of declining interest in, or aptitude for, college among low-income and minority students. Orfield shows a substantial link between dollars and college attendance, and examines policies that have clearly made things worse for those most in need of assistance — policies that are nevertheless maintained because of political deadlock. He concludes that hard choices must be made if college access is to be restored without greatly increased expenditures, and he then delineates those choices.

Beyond Posters and Pennants: College-Going Messaging at Three Racially and Economically Diverse Public Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Martinez ◽  
Isaac Torres ◽  
Katherine Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
College Going ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
College Going Culture

Context It has been argued that high schools with a majority of students of color and from low-income backgrounds must be purposeful in fostering a college-going culture in order to address the challenges and inequities historically underserved students face in preparing for and accessing a higher education. However, what this looks and sounds like in practice is not always clear, leaving schools seeking common ground on how to create a college-going environment. Purpose Through a symbolic and ecological model of college readiness framework, the messaging associated with the college-going culture at three racially and economically diverse Texas high schools that had consistently high college ready graduate rates was examined. The research questions that guided the study included: What types of college-going culture messages are conveyed at the schools, and how? How might such messaging impact students, school staff and leaders? Research Design This study drew on data from a three-year, multi-site descriptive case study of three public high schools in different regions of Texas that all served approximately 50% or more of students with financial need and 72% to 97% students of color, specifically Latina/o and Black students. Data Collection and Analysis Data was collected during week-long, yearly visits to the three schools and included: school and district documents; individual and group semi-structured interviews with 194 individuals including administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members; observations of common areas and classrooms; archival data; and researcher-derived documents including field notes, memos, and photographs of the school grounds and school activities. This paper primarily drew on the pictures taken of the schools (in hallways, classrooms, and shared spaces like cafeterias and libraries), field notes, memos, and interview data that specifically spoke to the visual and verbal messaging associated with the college-going culture. Analysis of data revealed six themes: college is a revered goal with many options; varying degrees of integration; support and resources are at your reach; think college and career; finding funding for college is vital; college is an individual and shared success. Conclusions This study's findings suggest the need to: reconsider what a strong college-going culture entails, re-envision college-going cultures as dynamic, multi-layered, and responsive, reframe postsecondary opportunities so they are more expansive and varied, and re-evaluate inequities in college-going messaging and academic rigor.

‘Far from the views of decision-makers’: podoconiosis instruction at medical schools across endemic countries in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (12) ◽  
pp. 899-907
Author(s):  
Kelly Fowler ◽  
Lilian Nantume Wampande ◽  
Agazi Gebreselassie ◽  
Ursin Bayisenge ◽  
Chany Uwase ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Government Support ◽  
African Countries ◽  
French And English ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Common Barriers

Abstract Background Podoconiosis is a neglected tropical disease that causes significant physical, emotional and financial suffering, especially among impoverished rural farmers. Sufficient physician training is integral to optimizing patient outcomes through timely diagnosis and appropriate management. Therefore we sought to characterize podoconiosis instruction offered to medical students in endemic African countries. Methods We invited faculty from 170 medical schools in all podoconiosis-endemic African countries to provide information about podoconiosis inclusion in medical curricula. Surveys were available in French and English and captured podoconiosis knowledge, quantity/quality of instruction, ranking of importance relative to other diseases and barriers for improvement. Respondents voluntarily shared responses online or by telephone. Results Study participants provided information about curricula at 97 medical schools across 14 countries. In total, 42.6% of schools across nine countries offered podoconiosis-specific instruction; most respondents felt that the quality (60.4%) and quantity (61.5%) of instruction was insufficient. Common barriers to sufficient training included exclusion from government curricula, prioritization according to caseload and scarce epidemiological data. Conclusions Our study demonstrates widespread neglect in podoconiosis training for physicians in endemic countries. Government support is needed to ensure curricula match the needs of health workers practicing in rural, low-income regions.

The Effect of After-School Classes on Private Tuition, Mental Health and Academic Outcomes: Evidence from Korea

Sociology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 877-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Carr ◽  
Liang Choon Wang
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
College Attendance ◽  
After School ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
School Class ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Private Tuition ◽  
Low Income Groups

Using a natural experiment from South Korea’s high school equalisation policy area, we show that school-provided after-school classes reduce students’ time spent in private tuition and the associated household expenditure, as well as increase their likelihood of college attendance. Though high and low income groups use a different mix of unassisted study and private tuition to substitute for after-school class, both consume less private tuition as after-school class hours increase. Importantly, the likelihood of college attendance improves similarly for both high and low income groups. The findings suggest a role for after-school classes in improving the academic outcomes of students and reducing demand for private tuition, but their utility in reducing outcome inequality is less certain.

scholarly journals Social Capital and Post-Secondary Decision-Making Alignment for Low-Income Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Rod Missaghian
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Institutional Agents ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
The Social

How is post-secondary decision-making influenced by the types of social capital students access? This study draws from interviews with 30 students in a low-income neighbourhood to examine who they turn to for post-secondary advice during the application process. Interactions with different ties and their influence on decision-making alignment, misalignment or uncertainty are explored. I find that students who report relying more on bonding (family and friends) social capital over (bridging) ties with school personnel demonstrate more misalignment in decision-making. In contrast, those who rely more on ties with school personnel exhibit more decision-making alignment. Many students whose proposed choices demonstrated alignment also lacked overall ‘fit’ and had unrealistic aspirations, except for a select few who reported close and consistent relationships with institutional agents. These findings contribute to the social capital literature examining the potential of institutional agents to help low-income students circumvent social stratification processes.

scholarly journals All Talk and No Action? Racial Differences in College Behaviors and Attendance

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Kate Blake
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
College Attendance ◽  
Oppositional Culture ◽  
Educational Values ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
College Going ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Relationship

According to the influential “oppositional culture” account, we should expect black students as a group to be less likely to engage in school than their white counterparts because they are more likely to believe and act in opposition to academics. In contrast to this prediction, qualitative and quantitative researchers have almost uniformly deduced that black students hold similar or higher educational values, attitudes, and expectations as compared with whites. I pull from the rich literature on racial differences in educational attitudes and expectations to posit that instead of black students shirking education, black students are actually more likely to act in favor of education, and that this might help explain their higher net rates of college attendance as indicated in prior research. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), I find that black students’ higher rates of engagement in college-going behaviors mediate the relationship between race and college attendance so that race is no longer a significant predictor of attendance. Implications for how these results can address racial disparities in college attendance are discussed.

scholarly journals Why Do College-Going Interventions Work?

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 124-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Carrell ◽  
Bruce Sacerdote
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Treatment Effects ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
College Attendance ◽  
Mentoring Program ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
College Going ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
The Difference

We present evidence from a series of field experiments in college coaching/mentoring. We find large impacts on college attendance and persistence, but only in the treatments where we use an intensive boots-on-the-ground approach to helping students. Our treatments that provide financial incentives or information alone do not appear to be effective. For women, assignment to our mentoring treatment yields a 15 percentage point increase in the college-going rate while treatment on the treated estimates are 30 percentage points (against a control complier mean rate of 43 percent). We find much smaller treatment effects for men, and the difference in treatment effects across genders is partially explained by the differential in self-reported labor market opportunities. We do not find evidence that the treatment effect derives from simple behavioral mistakes, student disorganization, or a lack of easily obtained information. Instead our mentoring program appears to substitute for the potentially expensive and often missing ingredient of skilled parental or teacher time and encouragement. (JEL I21, I23, I28)

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