If the Supreme Court bans race-conscious affirmative action, as expected, selective higher education institutions almost certainly will become less diverse, reducing the rates of degree attainment among students from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. "Race, Elite College Admissions, and the Courts: The Pursuit of Racial…

I study the efficacy of test-based meritocracy in college admissions by evaluating the impact of a grade-based "top percent'' policy implemented by the University of California. Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) provided large admission advantages to the top four percent of 2001-2011 graduates from each California high school. I…

Most selective colleges implemented test-optional admissions during the pandemic, making college entrance exam scores optional for applicants. We draw on descriptive, two-way fixed effects, and event study methods to examine variation in test-optional implementation during the pandemic and how implementation relates to selectivity and enrollment.…

There is debate over whether Asian American students are admitted to selective colleges and universities at lower rates than white students with similar academic qualifications. However, there have been few empirical investigations of this issue, in large part due to a dearth of data. Here we present the results from analyzing 685,709 applications…

A number of studies have examined the impact of changes in price on students' enrollment decisions at the undergraduate level, but little is known about the price responsiveness of graduate and professional students. This dissertation utilizes difference-in-differences and regression-discontinuity methods to analyze student-level data for admitted…

We introduce a model of the admissions process based upon standard agency theory and explore its implications with economics PhD admissions data from 2013-2019. We show that a subjective score that aggregates subjective ratings and recommendation letter features plays a more important role in determining admissions than an objective score based…

This study focuses on the admission criteria of a bachelor of accountancy (BAcc) degree program as one of many factors influencing students' success in graduating in the regulated time frames. The present study used constructivist learning and student engagement theories as connected lenses to explore the effect of admission criteria on…

Young people growing up in England from a poorer background are less likely to progress into higher education compared to their better off counterparts. This is especially true with respect to more selective universities. This study used government administrative data to gauge the effectiveness of the 'Realising Opportunities' programme, which…

The conclusion of recent research on the relationship between students' school curriculum and their opportunities to enter higher education has generally been that curricular differentiation is a further dimension of social stratification, and that it has become a mechanism of effectively maintained inequality, in the sense defined by Lucas. The…

There is an abundance of research on the college admissions process and the practices selective schools employ to evaluate and select students. Most findings are complex, nuanced, or conflicting. Less than a month after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in "Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard" and "Students…

A worldwide trend towards high levels of participation in higher education, paired with concerns about the post-university destinations of an increasing pool of graduates, have brought about two parallel phenomena: a process of sharp stratification in higher education and the growing relevance of postgraduate education as undergraduate study…

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 study provides a summary of how participating U.S. medical colleges are utilizing strategic enrollment management (SEM) principles to respond to enrollment challenges. Similar to undergraduate and graduate enrollment, medical college enrollment is affected by changing student populations, diversity challenges, increased competition, and…

Selective college admissions are fundamentally a question of tradeoffs: Given capacity, admitting one student means rejecting another. Research to date has generally estimated average effects of college selectivity and has been unable to distinguish between the effects on students gaining access and on those losing access under alternative…

This study focuses on how admissions at selective colleges and universities represent key racialized organizations. We analyzed data from 50 individual interviews of admissions professionals, through a theory of racialized organizations to recognize admissions as practices that consistently reproduces systemic inequities. We reveal how…