Opportunities for college-intending students at risk for “ summer melt ”

1. Opportunities for college-intending students at risk for “summer melt” Research made possible by support from the Bill & Melinda Gates, W.T. Grant, Spencer, Heckscher, and Lindback Foundations, and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Ben Castleman The University of Virginia (castleman@virginia.edu) Laura Owen Johns Hopkins University (laura.owen@jhu.edu) Erin Cox uAspire (erin@uaspire.org) Lindsay Page University of Pittsburgh (lpage@pitt.edu)

2. The summer melt problem Even after being accepted to college and choosing where to attend, low-income students face many hurdles to college enrollment… FAFSA verification Supplementary loan applications Tuition payment plan set-up Award letter review Unanticipated fees (orientation, housing, etc.) Orientation and placement test registration Health insurance applications and waivers Housing applications But typically have little access to professional help.

3. Uncertainty about financial aid Grant aid? Applied to tuition bill? Total cost of attendance?

4. Uncertainty about the tuition bill Financial gap of $2,400 or $600?

5. The magnitude of the summer melt problem Percentages indicate the share of college-intending students that do not enroll anywhere in the fall following high school graduation Boston, MA 21% Providence, RI 33% Albuquerque, NM 29% Philadelphia, PA 32% Fort Worth, TX 44% Dallas, TX 28% Fulton County 22%

6. uAspire & Summer College Connect Basics • Compared college-intending data from graduating seniors across more than 40 Boston public high schools to NSC enrollment data the subsequent fall • Data revealed a 21% summer melt rate • Decided to take action – designed new summer program which extended school-year advising to support college-intending high school graduates over the summer • Staffed intervention with uAspire advisors – aged 24 – 30, trained in college affordability, relationally strong, • Designed intervention as random control trial study to enable results that would yield learnings to benefit uAspire and the college access/success field • Just completed 3rd year of RCT summer interventions Inception of uAspire’s Summer College Connect program National non-profit organization founded in 1985. Based in Boston, MA with direct service sites in Springfield, Lawrence, and Fall River, MA; Miami, FL, and the Bay Area of California. Mission: Ensure all young people have the financial information and resources necessary to find an affordable path to – and through – a postsecondary education. Partnerships with over 100 schools, CMOs, CBOs, and higher ed institutions to provide college affordability advising services to more than 14,000 young people and their families every year..

7. Three Summers, Three Intervention Designs, All with Measurable Impact

8. Quick Implementation Pitfalls & Solutions Actual Texting Interaction via Signal Vine Portal Between uAspire Advisor and a Student Advisor: “uAspire reminder: Fall bill due 8/7. Do u have a good plan for paying ur bill? Need help? Questions about loans? Text us, or visit our walk-in hrs!” Student: “I saw what my bill is so is that what financial aid takes care of” Advisor: “Do you know how much your bill is for?” Student: “3000 & some change” Advisor: “That doesn't sound like your fin aid has been applied yet. Did you check your email? Check to see if you have any emails from the fin aid office.” Student: “Okay.” 7 min later: “I figured it out, they need my transcript” Advisor: “Ok that makes sense. Once they receive this, the fin aid office may have more papers for you to fill out. Be sure to check your email often and let us know.” Student: “Okay thank you.”

9. Resources to Support Summer Melt Programs

10. Summer outreach improves enrollment & persistence • Results from probit regressions including fixed effects for high school or advising team and baseline covariates. • ~ p <0.10 * p<0.05 ** p<0.01

11. Summer outreach improves enrollment & persistence ** • Results from probit regressions including fixed effects for high school or advising team and baseline covariates. • ~ p <0.10 * p<0.05 ** p<0.01

12. Summer outreach improves enrollment & persistence ** * • Results from probit regressions including fixed effects for high school or advising team and baseline covariates. • ~ p <0.10 * p<0.05 ** p<0.01

13. Austin 2013 Summer • Partnered with five school districts in the Austin, TX area. • All five districts serve large numbers of students from low income backgrounds. • Counseling directors recruited and hired several high school counselors to staff the intervention. • A high school exit survey was administered in each participating school district. • All students received a mailing at the beginning of the summer to provide reminders of steps students should take in order to matriculate on time in the fall after high school graduation. • Text messages were used to remind students and their parents of tasks they needed to complete at their intended college.

14. Focus Groups with School Counselors • Conducted 1 ½ hour focus groups • Administered a leadership survey • Trying to understand • Challenges students faced • Strategies counselors used to support students • Counselor efficacy • Suggestions for improving future interventions

15. Implications going forward... • Utilize school counselors in the college going process – they have access to allstudents • Employ technology strategies to dispense timely information and connect students and families with support • Provide ongoing professional development • Form collaborative relationships with other stakeholders involved in college and career readiness work • Work with CACREP to mandate higher education programs include courses on college admissions counseling in their counselor training programs