Do college admissions criteria matter? Evidence from discretionary vs. grade-based admission policies. (February 2023)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Do college admissions criteria matter? Evidence from discretionary vs. grade-based admission policies. (February 2023)
- Main Title:
- Do college admissions criteria matter? Evidence from discretionary vs. grade-based admission policies
- Authors:
- Kamis, Rais
Pan, Jessica
Seah, Kelvin KC - Abstract:
- Highlights: We examine the implications of college admissions criteria on students' outcomes. Examine admissions at a large university with two admission tracks. Regular admission track is based exclusively on academic performance while discretionary track considers non-academic qualities. Discretionary admission students enjoy significantly higher earnings compared to marginal group of regular admission students. Earnings advantage persists up to three years after graduation. Abstract: This paper examines the implications of college admissions criteria on students' academic and non-academic performance in university and their labor market outcomes. We exploit a unique feature of the admissions system at a large university in Singapore, the National University of Singapore, that has two admission tracks – a regular admission track where admission is based exclusively on academic performance and a discretionary admission (DA) track where applicants can instead gain admission on the basis of demonstrated non-academic qualities. Comparing students admitted through each track, we find that DA students fare similarly in terms of academic performance in university as marginal students admitted through the regular route. However, they are significantly more likely to be involved in optional academic and non-academic college activities and earn substantially higher labor market earnings up to three years after graduation. These results are not driven by the DA process differentiallyHighlights: We examine the implications of college admissions criteria on students' outcomes. Examine admissions at a large university with two admission tracks. Regular admission track is based exclusively on academic performance while discretionary track considers non-academic qualities. Discretionary admission students enjoy significantly higher earnings compared to marginal group of regular admission students. Earnings advantage persists up to three years after graduation. Abstract: This paper examines the implications of college admissions criteria on students' academic and non-academic performance in university and their labor market outcomes. We exploit a unique feature of the admissions system at a large university in Singapore, the National University of Singapore, that has two admission tracks – a regular admission track where admission is based exclusively on academic performance and a discretionary admission (DA) track where applicants can instead gain admission on the basis of demonstrated non-academic qualities. Comparing students admitted through each track, we find that DA students fare similarly in terms of academic performance in university as marginal students admitted through the regular route. However, they are significantly more likely to be involved in optional academic and non-academic college activities and earn substantially higher labor market earnings up to three years after graduation. These results are not driven by the DA process differentially selecting students on the basis of family background or unobserved academic ability. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Economics of education review. Volume 92(2023)
- Journal:
- Economics of education review
- Issue:
- Volume 92(2023)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 92, Issue 2023 (2023)
- Year:
- 2023
- Volume:
- 92
- Issue:
- 2023
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2023-0092-2023-0000
- Page Start:
- Page End:
- Publication Date:
- 2023-02
- Subjects:
- College selection -- Higher education -- Non-academic skills
I21 -- I23 -- J31
Education -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals
370 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02727757/ ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102347 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0272-7757
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 3656.990000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 25324.xml