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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.04.005
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Applying to college: do information deficits lower the likelihood of college-eligible students from less-privileged families to pursue their college intentions? Evidence from a field experiment
[journal article]
Abstract Information deficits are considered an important source of why students from less-privileged families do not enroll in college, even when they are college-eligible and intend to go to college. In this paper, we examine whether correct and detailed information on the costs of and returns to higher ed... view more
Information deficits are considered an important source of why students from less-privileged families do not enroll in college, even when they are college-eligible and intend to go to college. In this paper, we examine whether correct and detailed information on the costs of and returns to higher education increases the likelihood of college applications of less-privileged high school graduates who expressed college intentions in their junior high school year. We employ an experimental design with a randomly assigned 25-minute information treatment about funding opportunities for, and returns to, higher education given at Berlin schools awarding university entrance qualifications. Our analyses show that our information treatment indeed substantially increases the likelihood of treated less-privileged students to apply to college. Our study indicates that our low-cost provision of financial information not only increased their college knowledge but also substantially changed their college application behavior, despite other existing barriers, like economic constraints.... view less
Keywords
college; education; field research; decision; information; experiment; inequality; application
Classification
University Education
Macroanalysis of the Education System, Economics of Education, Educational Policy
Free Keywords
rational choice
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
Page/Pages
p. 193-212
Journal
Social Science Research (2017) 67
Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/10419/209726
ISSN
1096-0317
Status
Postprint; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0