This week, Public Policy Professor Jane Arnold Lincove published a study in the peer-reviewed journal Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis on guaranteed admission for low-income students.
Examining the tendency of low-income students to "undermatch," or choose colleges that are beneath their academic talent, Prof. Lincove and her collaborator, Kalena Cortes (Texas A&M), found that guaranteed admission programs at state universities make it more likely that low-income students will choose schools that match their abilities. While low-income students are still more likely to undermatch than their affluent peers, the guaranteed admission program had a greater impact on their matching choices.
The study was also covered in Education Week.