Social Impact and College Major Choice

Last registered on March 10, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Social Impact and College Major Choice
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018042
Initial registration date
March 04, 2026

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 10, 2026, 10:18 AM 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
Sara Rabino
Affiliation
07.05.1996
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Ana Brás-Monteiro
PI Affiliation
University of Zurich
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PI Name
Samantha Stelnicki
PI Affiliation
Bates College
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-03-06
End date
2030-12-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Students may not be aware of the contribution they can make by pursuing different majors, perceiving some fields as more associated with community well-being and others as lacking potential for social impact. We study these perceptions, along with students' preferences for this job attribute, and implement an information intervention to correct potential misperceptions about the social impact of different fields, allowing us to assess whether changes in these beliefs affect students' major choices.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Brás-Monteiro, Ana, Sara Rabino and Samantha Stelnicki. 2026. "Social Impact and College Major Choice." AEA RCT Registry. March 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18042-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2026-03-06
Intervention End Date
2026-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
From the our main survey: (i) students' self-beliefs about the likelihood of being satisfied with their job's contribution to society in different fields, (ii) major intentions, and (iii) advice given to undecided peers who care about the contribution to society of their future job. From the University administrative records: (i) actual major and minor choices, and (ii) actual course selection.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Students are randomized into two groups: the treatment group receives information on how previous graduates in each field perceive the social impact of their current job, including stories from alumni at the same university, while the control group receives no information about social impact across majors. Students who consent to participate also grant permission to share their academic transcript data, allowing us to track the effects of the information intervention over time.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is performed by the survey software Qualtrics, stratified by gender, campus, and year of enrollment.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
NA
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,200
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
We randomize individuals with equal probability (50/50) into treatment and control within each stratum defined by gender, campus, and year of enrollment.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The Ohio State University Institutional Review Board (Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge)
IRB Approval Date
2026-02-02
IRB Approval Number
STUDY20250658
Analysis Plan

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