Social inequality in access to prestigious fields of study: The interplay of students’ application behavior and universities’ recruitment procedures

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Heike Solga
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 398433179

• Final Report Year: 2023

Final Report Abstract

Using the example of medical study programs with nationwide admission restrictions, this project investigates whether and why universities’ admission procedures and criteria in interaction with performance characteristics and application strategies of applicants contribute to social inequality and gender differences in access to prestigious study programs. The data basis is application register data of the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung (SfH) from 2012-2019, enriched by self-compiled administrative data on selection criteria and the competitive situation of study programs, as well as a self-conducted online survey (with three survey waves) of the 2018 cohort of applicants. Our analyses show that even in the highly positively selected group of medical school applicants, social origin differences in admission chances can be observed. What role do admission criteria play in this? First, application strategies may vary by social origin due to resource differences and information asymmetries. Our analyses reveal six application patterns, which reflect specific combinations of strategies, preferences and restrictions and correlate with the applicant’s qualification profile and somewhat with social origin. Differences by social origin are mainly relate to the importance of geographic restrictions versus general maximization of opportunities. Second, admission criteria can lead to social disparities in admission chances due to, on average, socially unequal qualification profiles. In this respect, socially privileged applicants are clear advantaged with regard to the two most important (performance-related) admission criteria: the Abitur grade-point average (GPA) and participation and performance in admission tests. Socially weaker applicants, in turn, have a longer average waiting time. Finally, multivariate analyses show that social disparities in admission chances are almost completely explained by differences in Abitur grades and test scores; social origin differences in waiting times and application patterns play a minor role. This means, in admission systems where performance-based criteria are particularly relevant, application patterns are of secondary importance for social inequality in access, despite strategic incentives. Accordingly, the two central (performance-related) admission criteria (GPA and tests) lead to a double disadvantage for socially weaker applicants in the race for a place in one of Germany's most prestigious fields of study. Regarding gender, however, our analyses show that both criteria are compensatory, with female applicants having higher GPAs and male applicants having higher test scores.

Publications

• Von wegen „einfach einschreiben“. Wie deutsche Hochschulen ihre Studierenden auswählen. WZBrief Bildung 37/November 2018. Berlin: WZB.
  Finger, C.; C. Fitzner & J. Heinmüller
  
• Auswahlverfahren und deren Rückwirkung auf Bewerbung und Zulassung zum Medizinstudium. Soziale Herkunfts- und Geschlechterperspektiven. Kolloquium, 03.07.2019, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf
  Claudia Finger
  
• Der Einfluss von Gatekeeping-Prozessen für soziale Ungleichheiten beim Zugang zu prestigereichen Studienfächern. Vortrag auf DGS-Frühjahrstagung der Sektion „Soziale Ungleichheit und Sozialstrukturanalyse“, 27.05.2019, WZB, Berlin
  Claudia Finger
  
• Welche Rolle spielen Auswahlverfahren für soziale Herkunfts- und Geschlechterunterschiede beim Zugang zum Medizinstudium? Vortrag, BMBF Tagung Studieneingangstests unter der Lupe, 21.11.2019, Berlin
  Claudia Finger
  
• Who gets the chance to become a doctor? The role of gatekeeping processes for social inequality in access to prestigious fields of study in Germany − Vortrag, Anglo-German Workshop Series on “Skill Formation in Context”, 12.04.2019, WZB, Berlin
  Claudia Finger
  
• Who gets the chance to become a doctor? The role of gatekeeping processes for social inequality in access to prestigious fields of study in Germany − Vortrag, ECSR Conference, 13.09.2019, Université Lausanne
  Claudia Finger
  
• Who gets the chance to study? The role of gatekeeping-processes for social inequality in German higher education; Vortrag, SOFI, 11.06.2019, Stockholm
  Claudia Finger
  
• Test participation or test performance: Why do men benefit from test-based admissions to higher education? − Vortrag, RC28 spring meeting, 04.06.20, Turku University
  Claudia Finger
  
• (Mis)Matched College Aspirations and Expectations: The Role of Social Background and Admission Barriers. European Sociological Review, 38(3), 472-492.
  Finger, Claudia
  
• How experiences of success and failure influence inequality beliefs. Evidence from selective university admission; Vortrag, CIDER LERN Conference, 07.10.2021, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, Berlin
  Rebecca Wetter
  
• Test participation or test performance: Why do men benefit from test-based admissions to higher education? − Vortrag, 16.06.2021, University of Oxford
  Heike Solga
  
• Test participation or test performance: Why do men benefit from test-based admissions to higher education? − Vortrag, 23.04.2021, Science Po, Paris
  Heike Solga
  
• The role of individual experiences for inequality beliefs; Vortrag, Virtual Inequality Brownbag Series, 10.05.2021, Online
  Rebecca Wetter
  
• Why do men benefit from test-based admissions to higher education? − Vortrag, 15.06.2021, Maastricht University
  Claudia Finger
  
• Do experiences of success and failure influence beliefs about inequality? Evidence from selective university admission; Vortrag, ECSR Conference, 06.07.2022, University of Amsterdam
  Rebecca Wetter
  
• Mitwirkung am Podcast “In guter Gesellschaft“. Folge: Ist Deutschland wirklich eine Leistungsgesellschaft?
  Finger, C. & R. Wetter
  
• Stratified diversity? Application strategies and admission chances for medical schools in Germany − Vortrag, RC28 spring meeting, 22.04.2022, LSE, London
  Claudia Finger
  
• Stratified diversity? Application strategies and admission chances for medical schools in Germany − Vortrag, Workshop “Access to medical schools”, 11.11.2022, University College London
  Claudia Finger
  
• Wer darf Medizin studieren? Theoretische und empirische Perspektiven auf soziale Ungleichheit beim Zugang zum selektivsten Studienfach Deutschlands; Vortrag, DZHW Forschungskolloquium, 17.10.2022, Hannover
  Claudia Finger
  
• Who gets the chance to become a doctor? Selection criteria and social inequality in access to medical schools in Germany; Vortrag, Workshop “Access to medical schools”, 23.02.2022: WZB, Berlin
  Claudia Finger
  
• Wie Ungleichheit verstanden wird. Eigene Erfahrungen beeinflussen, ob junge Erwachsene an Erfolg durch Anstrengung oder an den Zufall glauben. WZB- Mitteilungen 3(177): 18-21.
  Wetter, R. & C. Finger
  
• Do Experiences of Success and Failure Influence Beliefs about Inequality? Evidence from Selective University Admission. Social Psychology Quarterly, 86(2), 170-194.
  Wetter, Rebecca & Finger, Claudia
  
• Junge Wissenschaft trifft Politik. Im Gespräch mit Bundesministerin für Bildung und Forschung Bettina Stark-Watzinger. Podiumsdiskussion, 28.02.2023, WZB, Berlin
  Claudia Finger & Rebecca Wetter
  
• Zugang zu medizinischen und pharmazeutischen Studiengängen in Deutschland: Bewerber*innenbefragung (Wintersemester 2018/19)
  Finger, C. & R. Wetter & H. Solga