Helping people fill out financial aid forms (at H&R Block!) increases the rate of college attendance [Applied Statistics]
Eric Bettinger, Bridget Terry Long, Philip Oreopoulos, and Lisa Sanbonmatsu write:
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.
Here's the study:
H&R Block tax professionals helped low- to moderate-income families complete the FAFSA, the federal application for financial aid. Families were then given an estimate of their eligibility for government aid as well as information about local postsecondary options. A second randomly-chosen group of individuals received only personalized aid eligibility information but did not receive help completing the FAFSA.
And the results:
Comparing the outcomes of participants in the treatment groups to a control group . . . individuals who received assistance with the FAFSA and information about aid were substantially more likely to submit the aid application, enroll in college the following fall, and receive more financial aid. . . . However, only providing aid eligibility information without also giving assistance with the form had no significant effect on FAFSA submission rates.
The treatment raised the proportion of applicants in this group who attended college from 27% (or, as they quaintly put it, "26.8%") to 35%. Pretty impressive. Overall, it appears to be a clean study. And they estimate interactions (that is, varying treatment effects), which is always, always, always a good idea.
Here are my recommendations for improving the article (and this, I hope, increasing the influence of this study):
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