How text message assistance can increase college enrollment by 8%

After graduating from high school, enrolling in college can be a daunting task. It can be particularly challenging for students from low-income backgrounds who may have less resources or insufficient parental support with the process. This often leads to potential college students failing to successfully enroll. 

Searching for a cost effective way to increase enrollment, this intervention tested whether proactive outreach by counselors and peer mentors could improve enrollment rates. During the summer, they tested three interventions. In the first intervention, a school counselor reached out to college-intending high school graduates and offered assistance in the enrollment process. In the second intervention, they sent personalized text messages to students with reminders of tasks they needed to complete, as well as advice from a counselor. The third tested whether outreach from a peer could be as effective as outreach from a counselor. All three interventions found that proactively reaching out to the students over the summer and providing them with information and individualized assistance resulted in significant improvements in college enrollment rates.