Effect of Simplifying Financial Aid Offers on College Enrollment and Borrowing

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   Recent policy and research efforts have focused on simplifying the 
   college-going process, improving transparency around college costs, 
   and helping students make informed decisions. In 2012, the Obama 
   administration released the “shopping sheet,” a standardized financial 
   aid offer that is intended to provide students with simplified 
   information about costs, loan options, and college outcomes. 

This paper examines the impact of the shopping sheet (adopted by more than 
   400 four-year colleges in two years) using: (1) administrative data 
   from a field experiment among admitted and already-enrolled students 
   at a public university, and (2) college-level data from a 
   quasi-experiment among four-year colleges. Findings provide some 
   evidence that information in the shopping sheet relating a college's 
   graduation rate to other colleges led to decreased borrowing at 
   colleges with poor graduation outcomes. Additionally, the shopping 
   sheet decreased borrowing at colleges that enroll high shares of 
   students receiving federal student aid and underrepresented minority 
   students. These findings indicate the shopping sheet may be 
   particularly salient to students who traditionally face higher 
   informational barriers during the college-going process.