Access to a college education is one of the key drivers of financial security, and financial aid (loans, grants, and scholarships) can make college a viable opportunity for many students. However, understanding how to access such aid requires financial capability and specific knowledge that can be lacking. Deficits in financial capability for engaging with higher education can lead students to forego further schooling, pay too much, take on crippling debt, and/or choose an ill-matched school.

Commonwealth received financial support from the U.S. Treasury Financial Empowerment Innovation Fund over the past three years to create and pilot “Ramp It Up,” a gamified app providing high school students with information about financial choices related to college and to study its effects on students who use it.

The Executive Summary provides an overview of the project. Read our other two reports in the series, Ramp It Up: Evaluation of a Gamified College Financial Readiness App and Ramp It Up: Gamifying College Financial Readiness, analyzing different aspects of Ramp It Up.