Insee Analyses · January 2021 · n° 62

Admission Post Bac: high school students rejected from their preferred university program due to the random draw have experienced lower achievements in higher education

During the last year of the Admission Post Bac (APB) platform, the number of oversubscribed university programs sharply raised, mainly in specific fields such as sport studies, law or psychology. Until 2017, lottery were used to break ties among applicants applying to an oversubscribed program as their first choice.

Applicants admitted to their top-ranked university program were 10% more likely to enroll in higher education compared to lottery losers. Admission to the top-ranked programs also affected other aspects of students’ educational pathways such as persistence in higher education, choice of major and degree completion.

The impact of the admission to the oversubscribed program has shown to be heterogeneous both by programs’ field of study and applicants’ profile. Vocational high school graduates who were admitted to their favorite program were more likely to pursue higher studies. However, their chances to complete their studies remained the same as lottery losers. Students applying to Sports have been strongly affected by the outcome of the admission procedure.