In this paper, we examine the relationship between children’s small-dollar savings accounts and college enrollment and graduation. We find that LMI children may be more likely to enroll in and graduate from college when they have small-dollar savings accounts with money designated for school. An LMI child with school savings of $1 to $499 before college age is more than three times more likely to enroll in college than an LMI child with no savings account and more than four and half times more likely to graduate. In addition, an LMI child with school savings of $500 or more is about five times more likely to graduate from college than a child with no savings account. Policy implications also are discussed.
Equitable Investments in the Next Generation: Designing Policies to Close the Racial Wealth Gap