California Accepted Papers Paper:
The Impact of Magnet Scholarships on Enrollment Decisions: Evidence from Randomization
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Magnet scholarships are institution-specific awards that colleges use to recruit talented students. For colleges and society at large, it is important to understand how these programs change enrollment decisions. Previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes, nonrandom offers, and proprietary information. I examine the effects of one university's program on college enrollment choices using random assignment. I find that the scholarship attracts disadvantaged, high achieving students largely at the expense of other in-state public universities. By contrast, the program repels more-advantaged students from in-state public colleges primarily to out-of-state universities, likely reflecting award negotiation. For no group of students does the scholarship change the quality of colleges chosen.
