TY - JOUR
T1 - Determinants of the match between student ability and college quality
AU - Dillon, Eleanor Wiske
AU - Smith, Jeffrey Andrew
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - We examine how students of varying abilities sort (and are sorted) into colleges of varying qualities. Our data indicate substantial amounts of both academic under match (high-ability students at low-quality colleges) and academic overmatch (low-ability students at high-quality colleges). Student application and enrollment decisions, rather than college admission decisions, drive most deviations from academic assortative matching. Financial constraints, information, and the public college options facing students all affect this sorting, but mainly via college quality rather than the match between ability and quality. More informed students attend higher-quality colleges, even when doing so involves overmatching.
AB - We examine how students of varying abilities sort (and are sorted) into colleges of varying qualities. Our data indicate substantial amounts of both academic under match (high-ability students at low-quality colleges) and academic overmatch (low-ability students at high-quality colleges). Student application and enrollment decisions, rather than college admission decisions, drive most deviations from academic assortative matching. Financial constraints, information, and the public college options facing students all affect this sorting, but mainly via college quality rather than the match between ability and quality. More informed students attend higher-quality colleges, even when doing so involves overmatching.
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U2 - 10.1086/687523
DO - 10.1086/687523
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85005979509
SN - 0734-306X
VL - 35
SP - 45
EP - 66
JO - Journal of Labor Economics
JF - Journal of Labor Economics
IS - 1
ER -