The trial was meant to determine whether a large-scale nudging effort could alleviate the issue of undermatching, in which high-achieving but low-income students forgo applying to more competitive schools even though they’re qualified to attend.
Previous research showed promise for at-scale nudging. In a 2013 study, researchers Caroline Hoxby and Sarah Turner found that low-income students who scored in the top 10% of the SAT or ACT would apply and be admitted to more selective schools if they received application fee waivers and personalized information about the application process.
