3 ms·

related piece in the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/opinion/sunday/a-simple-way-to-send-poor-kids-to-top-colleges.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&hp&pagewant

• kaitai 14y ago
  To elaborate on your too-short post, this article is the reply to so many comments above: it answers the questions "Does more information change behavior?" and "How can we change this lack of information?" The researchers in this randomized trial sent packages of information to high-scoring poor kids and their families, while keeping track of the college choices of a control group as well. Of the control group, 30 percent gained admission to one of these fancy colleges. In the intervention group 54 percent gained admission. The simple act of sending these kids a bunch of pieces of paper that outlined the steps necessary for application and financial aid -- and gave some cost comparisons -- had an enormous effect. This did not involve improving the educational experience of these kids in a single way. Everyone above who says, "Why don't these kids just Google Harvard and figure out it's cheap?" or, "Why don't they use CollegeConfidential?" is missing the point. The worst position to be in is when you don't even know what questions to ask. These kids don't even realize what questions they could be asking. It's not so hard to tell them.