In a pilot program, the College Board is allowing a handful of colleges to buy the names of prospective students, and contact information for them, based on whether they live in low-income areas, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The decision to provide information on high-school students in low-income areas, rather than in low-income households, is a compromise. While the College Board offers students’ information based on their grades, race, and other factors, it no longer provides information on family-income levels — a practice it stopped when some colleges used the data to identify wealthy students who would be able to pay full sticker price.

Colleges, however, are increasingly interested in recruiting low-income students. To do so, they must communicate to the students how attending college can be made affordable — something they try to do with targeted mailings.

Several colleges tested the program last year, and about 30 will participate in this year’s pilot. —Beckie Supiano