TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Bortolotti, Stefania
AU  - Loviglio, Annalisa
        TI  - The Impact of a Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program on University Choices and Performance
        PY  - 2024/Oct/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17417
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp17417
        AB  - We study the impact of a personalized mentoring program on university enrollment choices and academic outcomes. Conducting a randomized controlled trial among 337 high school students, we find that the program significantly influences students' decisions. The likelihood of choosing a field aligned with their mentor increases by 14 to 22 percentage points, depending on the sample and specification, representing a 25% to 45% increase from the baseline. Notably, the program also shifts preferences towards STEM/Economics fields, potentially enhancing prospective wages by 3.1- 3.7%. Using administrative data, we confirm the validity of survey-based evidence and show that the intervention does not negatively impact university performance, even though treated students enroll in more competitive fields.
        KW  - mentoring
KW  - university choices
KW  - RCT
        ER  -