Presentation on Financial Aid at APPAM
NCPR is pleased to announce its participation at the 2009 Fall Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) in Washington, DC.
Panel Name: Financial Determinants on the Demand for CollegeDate and Time: November 7, 2009 - 8:45AM
Chair: Susan Dynarski (University of Michigan and NBER)
Discussant: Judith Scott-Clayton (CCRC) and Lashawn Richburg-Hayes (MDRC)
Location: Washington Marriott Hotel, 2nd Floor, Thomas Room
Presentation Title: The Role of Information and Simplification in College Decision: Results from the FAFSA ExperimentConcerns about the low visibility of aid programs and the complexity of the aid process have spurred calls to simplify the application form and enhance the visibility of financial aid programs. However, little research has been done to determine whether such policies would truly improve college access and in what form "simplification" should take? This project examines the effects of two interventions designed to test of the importance of simplifying the process of getting financial aid and providing clear information about aid eligibility. The first streamlined both the aid application process and students' access to personalized higher education information. Using a random assignment research design, H&R Block tax professionals helped a group of low- to moderate-income families complete the FAFSA, the federal application for financial aid. Families were then immediately given an estimate of their eligibility for government aid as well as information about local postsecondary options. A second group of individuals was randomly assigned into an "information-only" treatment group. These participants received personalized aid eligibility estimates based on data from the tax form, but they did not receive help completing the FAFSA. We then compared the outcomes of participants in the treatment groups to a control group using multiple sources of administrative data. The analysis suggests that individuals who received assistance with the FAFSA and information about aid were substantially more likely to submit the aid application. Students in Grade 12 and recent high school graduates who receive assistance with the FAFSA were also 7.7 percentage points more likely to enroll in college within the following year, a 40 percent improvement. The program also increased college enrollment for young adults with no prior college experience from 2.9 to 3.5 percent. These results suggest that streamlining the application process and providing better information could be an effective way to improve college access. However, only providing aid information without FAFSA assistance had no effect on application rates or college enrollment.
Participants:Eric Bettinger (Stanford University)
