Understanding College Preferences for Greater Social Inclusion in Higher Education
This research project aims to understand how colleges in France select students based on both academic and non-academic factors, such as grades, statements of purpose, and extracurricular activities. The goal is to uncover biases within the selection process that may hinder equitable access to higher education, particularly for underrepresented students. By focusing on the criteria used by colleges to evaluate applicants, the study seeks to identify both supply and demand barriers that marginalized groups face and provide recommendations to foster greater social inclusion.
Access to higher education is critical for achieving social mobility and improving quality of life. However, disparities in access persist, especially for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, minority ethnic groups, and first-generation college students. While previous research has heavily focused on the barriers faced by students when applying to colleges, this study shifts its focus to how colleges themselves influence these disparities through their selection criteria.
In France, the college admissions process is centralized through a platform called Parcoursup. This system allows colleges to evaluate students based on both their academic achievements and non-academic factors. Although Parcoursup aims to standardize and make the admissions process more transparent, colleges retain significant discretionary power in selecting students. This study leverages the unique context of the French higher education system to explore how these selection criteria impact opportunities for underrepresented students.
An online survey will be conducted with high school seniors in the Île-de-France region who are applying for higher education via Parcoursup. The survey will include an information treatment to assess students' awareness of college selection criteria and how it influences their application decisions. This will help to uncover demand-side barriers and understand how students from different backgrounds navigate the admissions process. The information will then be merged with administrative data, which will provide information about the take up of the information treatment regarding the quality of the application, as well as provide variation to identify college preferences.
Specifically, student-side outcomes include changes in the quality and emphasis of non-academic components, analyzed through text-analysis methods, and time spent on applications. Moreover, college-side outcomes involve the quality of programs offering admission and program rankings of students.
The findings from this research have the potential to inform policy interventions aimed at reducing inequalities in access to higher education. By identifying areas where biases exist in the selection criteria, the study will provide actionable recommendations to make the admissions process more inclusive and equitable. These insights can help policymakers design strategies to support disadvantaged students and promote social mobility.