Authors

Elise Swanson, University of Southern CaliforniaFollow
Gary Ritter, Saint Louis UniversityFollow

Start to Finish: Examining the Impact of the El Dorado Promise Program on Postsecondary Outcomes

Short Title

Start to Finish

Abstract

The El Dorado Promise program is a universal, first dollar Promise program that guarantees a full tuition scholarship to students who attend the El Dorado School District from grades K-12, and a partial scholarship for those enrolled for at least 9^th through 12^th grade. We use a difference-in-differences framework to examine the impact of the El Dorado Promise program on college enrollment and bachelor’s degree completion. We find that, overall, the Promise was associated with a 14.0 percentage point increase in postsecondary enrollment, no change in associate’s degree completion, and an 8.8 percentage point increase in bachelor’s degree completion. Students of color and students with below-average GPAs saw the greatest increases in enrollment. Students with above-average GPAs realized the largest gains in bachelor’s degree completion. These results indicate that Promise programs in rural areas can have positive and significant impacts on postsecondary outcomes.

Recommended Citation

Swanson, Elise and Ritter, Gary (2020) "Start to Finish: Examining the Impact of the El Dorado Promise Program on Postsecondary Outcomes," Journal of Student Financial Aid: Vol. 49 : Iss. 3 , Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1703
Available at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/jsfa/vol49/iss3/2