With support from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the Hope Center has released a new national study testing whether nudging can improve FAFSA re-filing rates, financial aid drawdown, college persistence and completion.
The study, which includes 9,800 students from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 2016, was completed with the support of the Research Triangle Institute (RTI), SignalVine, and College Possible. Authors include Lindsay Page, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Bruce Sacerdote, and Ben Castleman.
The study estimated small gains in early FAFSA filing among students during the project. These gains were not sustained, there were no discernible increases in financial aid or effects on students’ academic outcomes.
Read the full paper here.