Washington’s College Bound Scholarship Program and its Effect on College Entry, Persistence, and CompletionMark LongauthorDan GoldhaberauthorTrevor GratzauthorPledge ProgramCollege Financial AidPost-secondary educationAccess and admissionsInequality2019Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown UniversityIndiana, Oklahoma, and Washington have programs designed to address college enrollment and completion gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to college. Using a triple-difference specification, we find that Washington’s College Bound Scholarship shifted enrollment from out-of-state to in-state colleges at which the scholarship could be used. While we find suggestive evidence that the program increased the likelihood of attending a postsecondary institution and attaining a bachelor’s degree within five years of high school, we discuss why the program might be more successful if it did not require students to sign a pledge.engtextgrey literatureedworkingpapers.com10.26300/4wjt-bb42In Copyright