PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Castleman, Benjamin L. AU - Page, Lindsay C. TI - Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal and College Persistence AID - 10.3368/jhr.51.2.0614-6458R DP - 2015 Nov 30 TA - Journal of Human Resources 4099 - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2015/11/20/jhr.51.2.0614-6458R.short 4100 - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2015/11/20/jhr.51.2.0614-6458R.full AB - In this paper we investigate, through a randomized controlled trial design, the impact of a personalized text messaging intervention designed to encourage college freshmen to re-file their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and maintain their financial aid for sophomore year. The intervention produced large and positive effects among freshmen at community colleges, where text recipients were almost 14 percentage points more likely to remain continuously enrolled through the spring of sophomore year. By contrast, the intervention did not improve sophomore year persistence among freshmen at four-year institutions, among whom the rate of persistence was already high.