Should College Be "Free"? Evidence on Free College, Early Commitment, and Merit Aid from an Eight-Year Randomized Trial

Douglas N. Harris and Jonathan Mills

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 373-406

Abstract: We provide evidence on the effects of college financial aid from an eight-year randomized trial offering ninth graders a $12,000 merit-based grant. The program was designed to be free of tuition/fees at community colleges and substantially lower the cost of four-year colleges. During high school, eligibility for the grant increased students' expectations of college attendance and low-cost college preparation effort, but not higher-cost effort. The program may have increased graduation from two-year colleges but did not affect overall college entry, graduation, employment, incarceration, or teen pregnancy. Additional analysis helps explain these modest effects and variation in results across prior studies.

JEL-codes: I22 I23 I26 I28 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230100

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