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The College Board tried a simple, cheap, research-backed way to push low-income kids into better colleges. It didn’t work.

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“It was supposed to be ‘a simple way to send poor kids to top colleges.’ Sending personalized college-application information and application fee waivers to high-achieving, low-income students pushed those students to attend more selective colleges, a 2013 study found. Perhaps because it offered a cheap — just $6 per student! — way to solve a vexing social inequity, the study attracted a great deal of attention. The College Board, purveyor of the SAT, even decided to bring the idea to scale, launching their own effort to send encouragement and fee waivers to students nationwide.”

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