Effects of a College Access Program for Youth Underrepresented in Higher Education: A Randomized Experiment
This study evaluates the EXCEL program, a college access program, which promotes underrepresented youth attending a higher education institution by guaranteeing a scholarship to a sponsoring university and providing various enrichment activities. Eighty-three eighth grade students with a GPA of B and above and standardized test scores at grade level or above were randomly assigned to attend EXCEL or to a control group. Results revealed that students involved in the program were not significantly more likely to attend college than students in the control group.