Nudging Students to Apply to College

by Joshua A. Price

This study analyzes an experiment conducted at a regional public university that used information about financial aid to nudge students to apply and enroll at the university. In the experiment, letters were sent to high school seniors to provide information on how to apply to the university and how to qualify for financial aid. A randomized subset received a modified letter that included the sticker price of tuition, a potential Pell Grant award amount, and the net difference. Individuals who received a letter with the focus on the net cost of attendance were 15 % more likely to complete the application to the university. These effects were larger for those individuals who were most likely to qualify for a Pell Grant. This informational nudge had no impact on the applicants’ decisions to enroll at the university or complete the FAFSA. These results provide insights to universities in how they can design their outreach programs to understand when informational nudges can be effective and when they may need additional resources in order to be successful

Many students participated in gathering the data for this project. They include Jonathan Frehner, Joseph Kasal, Madeline Craft, Keyan Norman, Justin Douglas, and Gavin Haws.