TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Hertweck, Friederike
AU  - Maris, Robbie
AU  - Tonin, Mirco
AU  - Vlassopoulos, Michael
        TI  - Patterns in University Applications: Socioeconomic Status, Gender, and Subject vs. Institution Preferences
        PY  - 2025/Dec/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18331
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18331
        AB  - This paper examines university application patterns in the UK, focusing on the joint decision of selecting both an institution and a subject. Using administrative data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) covering almost all undergraduate applications between 2008 and 2021, we document three key facts: (i) students generally choose subject before university: they apply on average to around 1.6 subject areas across 4.6 institutions, and roughly half apply to a single field across multiple universities; (ii) there are significant gender gaps in application and offer rates that reflect field composition; (iii) high-socioeconomic status students submit more applications, apply less to local institutions, and obtain more offers, but these differences shrink sharply once we control for attainment and the selectivity of the programmes that students apply to. An expert survey suggests that several of these patterns run against conventional wisdom.
        KW  - gender
KW  - UCAS data
KW  - application patterns
KW  - higher education
KW  - socioeconomic status
        ER  -