ABSTRACT

Higher education plays an increasingly important role in helping individuals attain social and economic success. Yet, despite substantial increases in access to higher education, inequities still exist in postsecondary attendance. Among 2004 high school graduates, for example, 43 percent of students from families who made less than $30,000 immediately entered a postsecondary institution, compared to 75 percent of students who entered from families who made more than $50,000. One impediment to increasing college enrollment among low-income students is the lack of information about financial aid. In particular, few families appear to know about the types of aid available, and the federal application process for financial aid is so complex that it may actually impede student access. This proposal outlines an intervention that would streamline both the aid application process and students' access to accurate and personalized higher educational information. In the proposed treatment, H&R Block professionals in Ohio would help a randomly-selected group of eligible low- to middle-income families to complete the federal aid application form (FAFSA). College access and financial aid take-up outcomes would be tracked administratively to measure the overall effect from simplifying the application process and providing constructive information about financial aid.

Concerns about the low visibility of aid programs and the complexity of the aid process have spurred calls to simplify the form and enhance the visibility of programs that are meant to educate students about the availability of financial aid. However, little research has been done to determine whether such policies would truly address the problems of access for low-income students. The potential effects of simplifying the FAFSA are unknown, and there is almost no information about how programs designed to increase awareness affect the likelihood students attend college and receive aid. This project addresses these questions by measuring the effects of an intervention designed to streamline both the application process and students' access to accurate higher education information. The project also creates a new dataset that academics can use to study the long-term effects of financial aid.

Broader Impact: Supporting access to higher education is a major goal of both federal and state governments, but puzzles remain about why current policies have not been more effective. This project would provide concrete examples of ways to improve the effectiveness of aid policies and programs by addressing four major policy questions. First, is the complexity and low-visibility of the FAFSA a major deterrent in college access? By examining the impact of direct assistance with filling out the FAFSA on postsecondary enrollment, we will be able to comment on how much of a barrier the current application process is. Second, this project would answer whether there are many eligible students already in college not receiving the financial aid benefits for which they qualify. Underutilization is a key policy issue because small increases in the amount of need-based financial aid that students receive may improve college retention. Third, the project tests how knowing the actual expected financial aid amount (beyond just filling out the FAFSA) influences students. If students behave differently based on knowing their expected awards in a timely manner, it may suggest alternative kinds of support the government could provide. Finally, it tests whether knowledge and projections about financial aid help young high school students to plan and enroll in postsecondary education. If students respond to such aid estimates in the long term, then there may be some support for an automated policy in which the federal government or individual states could target students with early information.

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