Submission 21
Offer Valid? Effects of Student Loan Offers on Educational Attainment and Earnings
panel.2-222 - Floor 1-01
Presented by: Benjamin Marx
Student loans are intended to increase college students’ attainment by providing federal financial resources. However, many institutions do not show a non-binding amount known as a “loan offer” in their financial aid award letters. In partnership with an anonymous college system (AnonU), we randomly assign students to receive award letters that differ in the amount of the loan offer. The experiment included applicants to a community college and a senior college for the 2019-2020 through 2023-2024 academic years and additional colleges in 2024-2025. Preliminary results for the educational attainment of the first two cohorts include significant, positive effects of loan offers on enrollment and credits attempted among bachelor’s degree-seeking students. In addition to educational attainment outcomes, we will be able to use state administrative data to measure effects on students’ earnings during and after college.