Specialists or All-Rounders: How Best to Select University Students?

76 Pages Posted: 19 May 2022 Last revised: 4 Sep 2024

See all articles by Pedro Luis Silva

Pedro Luis Silva

University of Porto - CIPES; Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Economia (FEP)

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Abstract

This paper studies whether universities should select their students only using specialised subject-specific tests or based on a broader set of skills and knowledge. I show that even if broader skills are not improving graduates' outcomes in the labour market, the university chooses to use them as a criterion for selection alongside the mastery of more subject-specific tools. Empirically, I exploit the variation between subject-specific and non-specific entrance exam sets on Portuguese students' large administrative dataset. My central finding is that, on average, universities with less specialised admission policies admit a pool of students who obtain a higher final GPA.

Keywords: job market, admission tests, university choice, general skills

JEL Classification: I23, I24, I28, J24

Suggested Citation

Silva, Pedro Luis, Specialists or All-Rounders: How Best to Select University Students?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 15271, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4114855

Pedro Luis Silva (Contact Author)

University of Porto - CIPES ( email )

Portugal

Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Economia (FEP) ( email )

Rua Roberto Frias
s/n
Porto, 4200-464
Portugal

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