Code for: Closing the gap: the effect of reducing complexity and uncertainty in college pricing on the choices of low-income students

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Susan Dynarski, University of Michigan; CJ Libassi, College Board; Katherine Michelmore, Syracuse University; Stephanie Owen, University of Michigan

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Codebooks			01/04/2021 03:34:PM
Programs			02/14/2021 10:51:AM
README.pdf	application/pdf	423.5 KB	02/14/2021 05:49:AM

Project Citation:

Dynarski, Susan, Libassi, CJ, Michelmore, Katherine, and Owen, Stephanie . Code for: Closing the gap: the effect of reducing complexity and uncertainty in college pricing on the choices of low-income students. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2021. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-05-24. https://doi.org/10.3886/E130286V1

Project Description

Summary: High-achieving, low-income students attend selective colleges at far lower rates than upper-income students with similar achievement. Behavioral biases, intensified by complexity and uncertainty in the admissions and aid process, may explain this gap. In a large-scale experiment we test an early commitment of free tuition at a flagship university. The intervention did not increase aid: rather, students were guaranteed before application the same grant aid that they would qualify for in expectation if admitted. The offer substantially increased application (68 percent vs 26 percent) and enrollment rates (27 percent vs 12 percent).The results suggest that uncertainty, present bias, and loss aversion loom large in students’ college decisions.

Funding Sources: The Institute of Education Sciences (R305E100008); U.S. Department of Education (R305B110001)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Randomized controlled trial

JEL Classification:
      I21 Analysis of Education
      I22 Educational Finance; Financial Aid
      I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
      I24 Education and Inequality
      I28 Education: Government Policy

Geographic Coverage: United States

Time Period(s): 2011 – 2018

Data Type(s): program source code

Methodology

Unit(s) of Observation: Students, High schools

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Published Versions

V1 [2021-05-24]

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