Research on student selection mostly focuses on accepted applicants and the effects of selection procedures. In this sense, most samples seem to be biased, which is well-reflected in the literature. The present study investigates student selection regarding students who had been initially de-selected but finally succeeded in the admission process.…

Inequalities in access to elite higher education institutions are central in the horizontal dimension of social stratification in higher education. Previous studies have consistently shown large social inequalities in access from French "grandes écoles" (GE), but there is limited empirical evidence on the effect of alternative admission…

Admission to highly selective institutions offers a pathway to upward social mobility, particularly for low-resource students. However, entrenched wealth disparities in the United States present serious challenges for admission officers at highly selective institutions. Utilizing individualized holistic review (IHR), including letters of…

This digest provides descriptive, aggregated statistics related to the experiences of 10 cohorts of graduates of City Schools from school years 2010-11 through 2019-20. The compilers use multiple indicators of college access, including the process of applying for college and financial aid, enrollment in the fall following high school graduation,…

Charter schools are highly debated in policy and political discussions about delivering public education. As "laboratories of innovation" that often use lotteries to assign spots, they hold the potential to generate rigorous evidence about effective educational practices. This paper synthesizes and summarizes findings from charter…

The past three decades have seen charter schools emerge as a prominent and controversial alternative to traditional public schools. This policy brief examines "Thirty Years of Charter Schools: What Does Lottery-Based Research Tell Us?" which summarizes 40 studies that have used lottery research designs to analyze how charter schools…

This brief describes (1) what parents look for when they choose a school and (2) how these preferences affect the sorting of students into schools under different school-choice policies. The findings are based on lists of preferred schools submitted by over 20,000 applicants to a citywide lottery for more than 100 traditional and charter public…

We estimate school-choice preferences revealed by the rank-ordered lists submitted by more than 22,000 applicants to a citywide lottery for more than 200 traditional and charter public schools in Washington, DC. The results confirm previously reported findings that commuting distance, school demographics, and academic indicators play important…

In light of the recent bans on affirmative action in higher education, this paper provides new evidence on the effects of alternative admissions policies on the persistence and college completion of minority students. I find that the change from affirmative action to the Top 10% Plan in Texas decreased both retention and graduation rates of…

Presents a series of studies that show how applicant-reported biodata, together with standard academic criteria, were used to select candidates in one Canadian preservice teacher education program. Analysis of data from 1986-90 indicates that assigning equal weight to academic and personal criteria has several advantages. (SM)

Discusses factors which influence the acceptance of particular students at highly competitive colleges. Suggests that admissions officers especially prefer athletes, minority students, and alumni children. Other preferred applicants include school leaders, students with artistic talent or notable personal strengths, and students from wealthy…

Admission policies and procedures in higher education institutions in East and West Europe were studied based on responses to a 1977 questionnaire sent to European countries and through additional study. The following topics are addressed: definitions of terms related to problems of access to postsecondary education; quantitative trends; admission…

Comprehensive or nonselective schools have been in existence in the United Kingdom for over 40 years, having gradually replaced the old selective system of grammar schools for able pupils and secondary modern schools for less able pupils. In spite of their growth in numbers, comprehensive schools have been subject to continual controversy, and…