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April 8, 2015 The Long Repercussions of a Six-Dollar Discount After the fee for sending ACT standardized-test scores to colleges was reduced by $6 in 1997, 80% of low-income high-school students in the U.S. sent scores to additional colleges, some of which were highly selective. Because some of the students were accepted by these colleges, Amanda Pallais of Harvard estimates that the small discount had a powerful effect on the students’ economic prospects: On average, sending an additional score report increased a low-income student’s expected future earnings by more than $10,000. Higher-income students didn’t show a similar response to the discount. SOURCE: Small Differences That Matter: Mistakes in Applying to College

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