The Long-Term Effects of Career Guidance in High School and Student Financial Aid: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

This paper studies the effects of a randomized control trial in which Canadian high school students were randomly invited to participate in a career guidance program during high school and/or made eligible for extra financial aid conditional on college enrollment. I use administrative records to examine the effects of the interventions on college enrollment, graduation, and income up to age 29. The guidance intervention increased students’ four-year college enrollment and graduation rates and had positive effects on individuals’ income in adulthood. The financial aid intervention had a significantly lower impact on individuals’ income in adulthood despite also increasing college enrollment. (JEL D12, I21, I22, I23, I28, J31)