We study whether visits to a college campus during eighth grade affect students’ interest in and preparation for college. Two cohorts of eighth graders were randomized within schools to a control condition, in which they received a college informational packet, or a treatment condition, in which they received the same information and visited a flagship university three times during an academic year. We estimate the effect of the visits on students’ college knowledge, postsecondary intentions, college preparatory behaviors, academic engagement, and ninth-grade course enrollment. Treated students exhibit higher levels of college knowledge, efficacy, and grit, as well as a higher likelihood of conversing with school personnel about college. Additionally, treated students are more likely to enroll in advanced science/social science courses. We find mixed evidence on whether the visits increased students’ diligence on classroom tasks and a negative impact on students’ desire to attend technical school.

我们研究八年级期间访问大学校园是否会影响学生对大学的兴趣和准备。两个队列中的八年级学生在学校内被随机分配到一个对照条件，即他们收到大学信息包或治疗条件，即他们收到相同的信息，并在一学年中访问了三所旗舰大学。我们估计访问对学生的大学知识，中学后意图，大学准备行为，学术投入和九年级课程入学的影响。受过治疗的学生具有较高的大学知识，效能和毅力，并且与学校人员就大学进行交流的可能性更高。此外，受过治疗的学生更有可能参加高级科学/社会科学课程。