Working Paper: NBER ID: w14844
Authors: Christopher Avery; Jonathan D. Levin
Abstract: Early admissions is widely used by selective colleges and universities. We identify some basic facts about early admissions policies, including the admissions advantage enjoyed by early applicants and patterns in application behavior, and propose a game-theoretic model that matches these facts. The key feature of the model is that colleges want to admit students who are enthusiastic about attending, and early admissions programs give students an opportunity to signal this enthusiasm.
Keywords: early admissions; college admissions; selective colleges
JEL Codes: C78; D82; I20
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Early application (Y20) | strategic behavior (L21) |
| Early admission (Y20) | higher likelihood to enroll (I24) |
| Early applicants (I23) | stronger qualifications (J24) |
| Institutional characteristics (D02) | type of early admission program (I23) |
| Early applicants (I23) | higher admission rates (I23) |
| Early application (Y20) | acceptance rates (C52) |