New Research Demonstrates the Connection Between Participation in Student Search Service and Higher College Enrollment and Degree Completion

The College Board established Student Search Service® (Search) to connect students to colleges/scholarship programs they may be eligible for. Colleges and scholarship organizations use Search to engage directly with students and alleviate information, process, and financial barriers students face on their path to college. New research demonstrates that these Search-enabled connections make it more likely that students will go to—and complete—college.

The figure below shows that students who connect with colleges via Search are 25.3% (or 8.3 percentage points) more likely to enroll in a 4-year college than similar students who were not connected to colleges via Search. Students who connect to colleges and scholarship organizations via Search are also 31.2% (or 4.9 percentage points) more likely to complete their bachelor’s degree in 4 years. Additional data included in the research brief show that these enrollment and completion benefits associated with Search are as large or larger for Black, Hispanic, and first-generation students.