Denny, Kevin and Doyle, Orla and O'Sullivan, Vincent and McMullin, Patricia (2014) Money, mentoring and making friends : the impact of a multi-dimensional access program on student performance. Economics of Education Review, 40. pp. 167-182. ISSN 0272-7757
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
This study evaluates a comprehensive university access program that provides financial, academic and social support to low socioeconomic students using a natural experiment which exploits the time variation in the expansion of the program across high schools. Overall, we find positive treatment effects on first year exam performance, dropout rates, and final graduation outcomes. We find similar results for access students entering through the standard admissions system and those entering with grade concessions. This suggests that access programs can be effective at improving academic outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged students.