Some universities, often the most prestigious in a higher education system, select qualified applicants solely on the basis of their measured academic or cognitive abilities. The universities' assumption is that these cognitive abilities are an accurate and complete measure of the applicants' capacity to benefit from university study. This study…

In Chile many university students do not persist to graduation. Some students dropped out in the first year, others later. The objective of this study, based on students admitted to but not graduating from selective universities, was to identify factors associated with their academic success and length of persistence before withdrawal. The 707…

How does a policy of free tuition affect student applications to universities? This article assesses how free tuition influences applications in terms of the selectivity of the university, length of the degree program, cost of the program, and application to a program in the STEM field. The study based on a quasi-experimental design was carried…

The objective of this study was to understand which factors contribute most to Psychology and Teaching graduates' satisfaction with their university professional formation. Two factors were assessed: the level of admissions selectivity by the university attended, and the salary received once employed. The participants graduated from three…

This paper undertakes an intersectional analysis of the ways in which socio-economically elite higher education students in Chile reproduce privilege through everyday practices of whiteness and beauty. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews and observations with 20 privileged students at an elite Chilean university, the paper identifies and…

In 2019, the right-wing Government of Chile was expected to implement a substantial reform regarding student assignment to schools that had been passed by the previous administration (the School Inclusion Law). While implementing this policy, in 2019, the former minister of education directed a populist campaign aiming to change policy directions…

The Chilean Higher Education System can be considered an exemplary case of massification based on the privatisation and heterogenisation of universities. These processes have created a dual system, with a large group of universities for mass education versus a small group of universities focused on educating elites. In this context, this paper…

This article focuses on the ways in which international students from Chile narrate their experiences in the US, and the extent to which mobility across national borders reshapes social class understandings and privilege. To complete this study, I conducted 13 in-depth interviews and a focus group with five Chilean graduate international students…

Perceiving new student populations as underprepared is a common response to the expansion of university systems and the diversification of the student body. Latin America, as other developing regions, has increased its university enrolment of underrepresented, historically excluded students, through a variety of policies. This study analyzes the…

During the last ten years, a group of selective universities in Chile has started admission programs to increase equity in higher education that consider the achievement of students in the context of educational opportunities they have had, thus reducing reliance on the national college entrance exam. This study explores persistence rates of…

Chile is known for universal school choice policies and a high level of economic segregation. In part, segregation has been linked to selective school admission policies. Chile implemented a centralized school admission system (New School Admission System), where PK-12 schools must accept any applicant, and lottery assignment is used for…

This dissertation investigates the impact of information and policy on the efficiency of higher education financing, particularly for low-income students in Latin America. Through three empirical studies, it addresses the barriers posed by information asymmetries and institutional discretion in student loan and college admission processes and…