Financial Aid Guarantees and University Selection

Last registered on March 15, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Financial Aid Guarantees and University Selection
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012899
Initial registration date
March 11, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 15, 2024, 6:52 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Annabel Thornton
Affiliation
University of Toronto
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-03-11
End date
2025-04-01
Keywords
Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
Financial Aid; Post-Secondary Education
JEL code(s)
D81, I22, I23
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study the role of financial aid information in the post-secondary education decision; separating the effects of information alone and information with certainty. Our primary research question for the study asks: how does providing a minimum amount of guaranteed institutional financial aid effect the likelihood of students accepting offers of admission to a post-secondary institution.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Thornton, Annabel. 2024. "Financial Aid Guarantees and University Selection." AEA RCT Registry. March 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12899-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-05-01
Intervention End Date
2024-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Offer Yields
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
An Offer Yield is the proportion of students with an offer of admission who accept that offer of admission. There can be a total offer yield - referencing the entire population of student with offers - or offer yields pertaining to specific groups.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We will investigate heterogeneous treatment effects by geography, income level, financial aid allocation, institution, and beliefs about financial aid. Additionally, we will examine the accuracy of beliefs about financial aid.

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We will analyze the accuracy of beliefs about financial aid by first eliciting the amount of aid students expect to receive. These expectations will then be compared to the (1) the amount they are estimated to receive, (2) the amount they are guaranteed to receive, and (3) the amount they actually receive.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Students must complete their standard financial aid application form. Students eligible for financial aid, and in the control group, will receive the financial aid information (the intervention) after a key enrolment deadline. Students eligible for financial aid, and in the treatment group, will receive the financial aid information (the intervention) before a key enrolment deadline.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done by the final digit of Student Numbers.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 23,000 students would be eligible to apply for financial aid. Based on previous financial aid application rates and timing of admissions, approximately 2700 students will receive the intervention.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Total of 2700 in both groups; approximately 1350 in the treatment group and 1350 in the control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
For the estimated 2700 students, we should be able to detect (at minimum) a treatment effect in total offer yield of approximately 5 percentage points.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Toronto’s (U of T) Research Ethics Board
IRB Approval Date
2024-02-15
IRB Approval Number
45773
Analysis Plan

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