All too often academically qualified high school students enroll in less selective four-year colleges, or two-year colleges, or no college at all. Intuitively, these students might be expected to succeed in relatively easy environments, but, in fact, the opposite is true. Research William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson found that In a college environment with lower admission standards, students who are academically overqualified are less likely to receive a degree than they are at a selective university.

Providing a support system that encourages students to apply to the most selective colleges they are qualified for, helps them understand their likelihood of succeeding at different schools, and follows up on applications, financial aid and other paperwork is emerging as an effective tool to address this “undermatching” problem. Such assistance is especially important in Chicago, where research by the Consortium of Chicago School Research shows that two-thirds of high school graduates fail to enroll in colleges at the level for which they are qualified.

In 2010, a $50,000 Joyce grant enabled MDRC to develop and test College Match, an intervention system to address undermatching in three Chicago high schools. Encouraged by the first year’s successful results, the Foundation has recommitted to College Match with a $500,000 two-year grant. The new grant will allow MDRC to further evaluate the first-year results, refine the model, and expand it to eight more public high schools.

College Match places advisers in schools with primarily low-income student populations and identifies students considered vulnerable to undermatching—students with GPAs of at least 3.0 and ACT scores of at least 20, the score many colleges set as the minimum for acceptance. College Match advisors work hard throughout the year to get to know the students, understand their lives, and figure out which colleges might be their best matches. In its second year, College Match will focus on juniors, allowing advisors to start the college conversation sooner and get students thinking about what the right college may be.

“The advisors fulfill more than a traditional guidance counselor role,” said Fred Doolittle, MDRC vice president and director. “Because of the way the program was designed, the advisors are able to seek out the kids and help them understand the connection between college choice and graduation rates.” In the program’s first year, he adds, “working with College Match advisors led to a substantial increase in the proportion of students who go to a college that is a good match.”

Joyce is optimistic that College Match will offer important evidence about how to boost not just college access rates for low-income youth, but even more critically, college completion rates.

More information on Joyce’s Special Opportunities Program.