Working Paper: Using Text Messaging to Guide Students on the Path to College Benjamin L. Castleman 1 , Laura Owen 2 , Lindsay C. Page 3 & Bryan Stephany 3 1 University of Virginia 2 San Diego State University 3 University of Pittsburgh Updated September 2014 EdPolicyWorks University of Virginia PO Box 400879 Charlottesville, VA 22904 EdPolicyWorks working papers are available for comment and discussion only. hey have not been peer-reviewed. Do not cite or quote without author permission. Working paper retrieved from: http://curry.virginia.edu/uploads/resourceLibrary/33_Text_Messaging_Guide_to_College.pdf Acknowledgements: We are grateful for the collaboration of several partner organizations and the advisors and counselors who work within them to support the college aspirations of the students they serve. hese organizations include uAspire, College Bound (Baltimore, MD), the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Austin Independent School District, Del Valle Independent School District, Hays Consolidated Independent School District, and Plugerville Independent School District. All errors are our own. Finding efective strategies to convey timely inancial aid and college enrollment information to students and their families continues to be a high priority for high schools, higher education institutions, and governmental agencies. We discuss text messaging as an efective, scalable strategy to provide students and their families with information and support to navigate the college transition process. Through analysis of recipient-level responses to personalized, automated text messages and counselor focus groups, we provide evidence of text messaging as a viable and eicient communication approach. Texting provides a mechanism to connect students with individu- alized and professional support, while facilitating opportunities for meaningful interaction between students and counselors related to educational decisions, tasks, and processes. EdPolicyWorks EdPolicyWorks Working Paper Series No. 33. September 2014. Available at http://curry.virginia.edu/edpolicyworks/wp Curry School of Education | Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy | University of Virginia Working Paper © 2014 Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. For more information please visit www.curry.virginia.edu/edpolicyworks or contact EdPolicyWorks@virginia.edu