Behavioral barriers transitioning to college

This paper presents a review of mostly experimental evidence demonstrating the potential usefulness of simplifying the college admission and enrollment process. Seemingly small differences in the process of students transitioning to college often determine whether some matriculate or not. Behavioral models that imply the possibility of sub-optimal long-run outcomes may be needed to better explain these results. We argue that the model which fits the results best is one where some students are inattentive to their college possibilities and therefore let opportunity slip by. Making the process to get to college easier and more salient helps offset this inattentiveness and prevents some exiting high school from falling through the cracks.