Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15589
Authors: Judith Delaney; Paul J Devereux
Abstract: We study gender differences in decision-making strategy when applying for college usingapplications data for all college applicants in Ireland over the 2015-17 period. Detailedinformation on high school subjects and grades enable us to examine how the college choicesof equally achieving students differ by gender. We find that female students better balance theopportunity to aim for highly selective programmes with their top choices while also listingprogrammes with lower entry requirements so as to reduce their risk of not being admitted toany programme. We also find that females favour field of study over institution with their top3 choices being more likely to cluster on field of study and less likely to be for a particularcollege. When we investigate how effects differ across the achievement distribution, we findthat gender differences in risk management are concentrated amongst high achieving students.
Keywords: Education; Gender Gaps; College Applications
JEL Codes: J16; I2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| gender (J16) | college application behavior (I23) |
| female students (I24) | strategic approach to decision-making (D79) |
| high-achieving students (D29) | gender differences in risk management (G41) |
| females (J16) | listing safe choices (G11) |
| females (J16) | lower average lowest required points (C12) |
| gender differences in application behavior (J16) | enrollment outcomes (I21) |