Success in the university admission process in Germany: regional provenance matters

Arbeitspapier

School education in Germany is under the responsibility of the federal states and as a consequence average grades differ widely across regions. Since school leavers apply nationwide for admission to university, regional provenance may thus matter a lot for the success probability in the admission process. Using a comprehensive dataset of the German central clearing house for university admissions in 2006/2007, we show that success rates indeed differ dramatically between federal states, provided that grades are not made comparable across state boundaries. Most of the variation in success can be explained by state-level differences in grading. By defining quotas for federal states and restricting competition among applicants to the state-level, the link between state-level grading and success rates in the university admission process can be broken.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: DIW Discussion Papers ; No. 789

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Single Equation Models; Single Variables: Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions ; Higher Education; Research Institutions ; Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism; Secession
• Subject: Admission to university ; central clearing house ; federalism ; federal education system ; Studium ; Bildungschancen ; Teilstaat ; Bildungsabschluss ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Braun, Sebastian ; Dwenger, Nadja
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
• (where): Berlin
• (when): 2008

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/27313
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET