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High school grades, admissions policies, and the gender gap in college enrollment

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  • Conger, Dylan

Abstract

The female advantage in college enrollment and completion has generated concern among university officials and sparked debate about gender-conscious college admissions. There are a number of explanations for this increasing gender imbalance on college campuses. This paper focuses on the role played by admissions policies that base decisions solely on applicants’ high school grades. Given that females earn higher grades than males, such policies can contribute to growing female shares in admissions. To exemplify this trend, I use publicly-available data from Texas to show that the Texas Top 10% plan, which guarantees public university admission to students who graduate in the top decile of their high school class, led to an increase in the female share of accepted students. The increase was particularly large among black students, where the female share of admitted students was already highest among the major racial/ethnic groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Conger, Dylan, 2015. "High school grades, admissions policies, and the gender gap in college enrollment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 144-147.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:46:y:2015:i:c:p:144-147
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.03.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Dylan Conger & Lisa Dickson, 2017. "Gender Imbalance in Higher Education: Insights for College Administrators and Researchers," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(2), pages 214-230, March.
    2. Rajeev Darolia & Cory Koedel, 2018. "High Schools And Students' Initial Colleges And Majors," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 692-710, October.
    3. Joshua Hyman, 2018. "Nudges, College Enrollment, and College Persistence: Evidence From a Statewide Experiment in Michigan," Working papers 2018-10, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    4. Karlsson Linn & Wikström Magnus, 2022. "Admission Groups and Academic Performance: A Study of Marginal Entrants in the Selection to Higher Education," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 22(1), pages 155-191, January.
    5. Didier, Nicolás, 2021. "Does the expansion of higher education reduce gender gaps in the labor market? Evidence from a natural experiment," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. McCannon, Bryan C., 2025. "Does starting a Division III college football program benefit the institution?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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