Washington chatbot may help FAFSA completion

Dahlia Bazzaz, The Seattle Times on Dec 24, 2024

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An AI-powered chatbot could help move the needle on Washington's stubbornly low FAFSA completion rate.

According to a recent report from the Washington Student Achievement Council, students who subscribe to OtterBot, a text-based chatbot developed by the organization, were more likely to fill out college financial aid forms than peers who didn't. WSAC is careful not to attribute the boost directly to the bot, as other factors may influence the completion rates for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. However, the data is a promising sign of the bot's potential impact.

"We remind the heck out of students about FAFSA," said Sarah Weiss, director of college access initiatives at WSAC.

Last year, around 56% of OtterBot's primary audience — low-income families who qualify for the state's College Bound scholarship program — completed the FAFSA. Among families eligible for the program but who did not receive the texts, about 42% finished the form.

Washington's students lag behind the national average in completing the forms for college financial aid. Last year, the state's completion rate was 41%, 13 percentage points below the national average.

The bot sends critical reminders related to college access, including financial aid deadlines and events where students can get more support. Using AI, it can also answer questions from its more than 100,000 subscribers, including students and their parents. The annual cost to the state is around $464,000.

Many of the incoming texts are questions about how to start the financial aid process, said Weiss.

The findings are especially notable given the problems that plagued the FAFSA last year. Glitches in the form created a massive headache for families. The bot instructed students on starting the process and reminded them of the financial support waiting on the other side. One review from a user satisfaction survey said OtterBot was their "friend through the process" of planning for college.

WSAC, a state agency dedicated to increasing educational attainment, launched OtterBot in 2019 to connect more effectively with College Bound families. Beyond income, the students who qualify for this program are historically underrepresented in higher education in other ways: They are predominantly students of color, and around a fifth of them speak Spanish at home.

"We weren't getting a lot of responses via email," said Weiss. "We were trying to find a tool and resource that would be available to students and families with something they already use."

The bot can text in more than 100 languages, and its user base is expected to grow next year as the state begins collecting high school families' contact information to determine college access.

The research on whether texting efforts have effectively reminded students about the critical college application milestones is inconclusive. Researchers Lindsay Page and Benjamin Castleman, who have studied similar text message campaigns, say localizing the effort is key.

"It's going to be more effective when the source is known and trusted by the student," said Page, an education policy professor at Brown University.

Based on their research, WSAC staff knows this is important. Weiss said counselors across the state inform families and students that they will receive messages from the service. Future plans for the service include tailoring the texts to the students' schools.

Weiss suggested that instead of reminding students to see a counselor, the message might give the counselor's room number at their specific high school.

The tool is now open to all ninth to 12th grade students and families. To access it, text "Hi OtterBot" to one of two numbers: 360-928-7281 for students and 360-634-0354 for parents. Subscribers will receive at least two texts per month.

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