Dive Summary:
- A new study by Canadian researchers Philip Oreopoulos and Ryan Dunn suggests that public service announcements and other materials designed to promote the value of a college education seem to lower uncertainty and increase prospective students' interest in attending college.
- The study, released this week by Canada's National Bureau of Economic Research, presented about 1,600 students at some of Toronto's most poorly rated high schools with a two-part survey, followed by half of the participating students being shown a video and transcript with "positive" information about college and financial aid, as well as a financial aid calculator.
- After viewing the video and using the financial aid calculator, many students who took a follow-up survey expressed less uncertainty about postsecondary education and were less likely to choose tuition and enrollment costs as a reason why most people don't attend college.
From the article:
College access groups, philanthropic foundations, and higher education groups (with varying degrees of self-interest) spend significant time and effort trying to inform the detached or the daunted that going to college is both possible and worth it. Do the late-night public service announcements and other promotional campaigns have any effect at all? A new study suggests they do. ...