Learning About Opportunity: Spillovers of Elite School Admissions in Peru

We study how the admission of an older schoolmate to an elite secondary school influences the application decisions and admission outcomes of younger students. Our study focuses on the rapid expansion of a nationwide system of highly selective secondary schools in Peru. These schools are free of charge, which enables us to investigate the effect of peers on educational choices in a context with minimal financial barriers. Using a sharp regression discontinuity design, our analysis shows that the admission of an older schoolmate increases the number of younger students who apply (by 17%) and are admitted (by 43%) to this elite school system. The effect on applications is concentrated among students with low socioeconomic status (SES). Our evidence suggests that role models can reduce the socioeconomic aspirations gap by helping high-achieving, low-SES youth to learn about the benefits of attending elite schools and to assess whether such institutions are a good match for them.