Intensive College Counseling and the Enrollment and Persistence of Low-Income Students

Though counseling is one commonly pursued intervention to improve college enrollment and completion for disadvantaged students, there is relatively little causal evidence on its efficacy. We use a regression discontinuity design to study the impact of intensive college counseling provided by a Massachusetts program to college-seeking, low-income students that admits applicants partly on the basis of a minimum grade point average requirement. Counseling shifts enrollment toward four-year colleges that are less expensive and have higher graduation rates than alternatives students would otherwise choose. Counseling also improves persistence through at least the second year of college, suggesting a potential to increase the degree completion rates of disadvantaged students.