Playing the Admissions Game: Student Reactions to Increasing College Competition / John Bound, Brad Hershbein, Bridget Terry Long.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bound, John.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Hershbein, Brad.

Long, Bridget Terry.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w15272.

NBER working paper series no. w15272

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Playing the Admissions Game

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2009.

Summary:

Gaining entrance to a four-year college or university, particularly a selective institution, has become increasingly competitive over the last several decades. We document this phenomenon and show how it has varied across different parts of the student ability distribution and across region, with the most pronounced increases in competition being found among higher-ability students and in the Northeast. Additionally, we explore how the college preparatory behavior of high school seniors has changed in response to the growth in competition. We also discuss the theoretical implications of increased competition on longer-term measures of learning and achievement and attempt to test them empirically; the evidence and related literature, while limited, suggests little long-term benefit.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2009.