College application choices in a repeated Deferred Acceptance (DA) setting : empirical evidence from Croatia / Dejan Kovač, Christopher Neilson, Johanna Raith ; publisher: Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) - Member of the Leibniz Association
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Discovery
1929255640
URN
urn:nbn:de:gbv:3:2-123456789-1176974
DOI
ISBN
ISSN
Autorin / Autor
Beiträger
Körperschaft
Erschienen
Halle (Saale), Germany : Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) - Member of the Leibniz Association, 2025
Umfang
1 Online-Ressource (III, 77 Seiten, 17,88 MB) : Diagramme
Ausgabevermerk
Sprache
eng
Anmerkungen
Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 37-39
Inhaltliche Zusammenfassung
How do beliefs on admission probability influence application choices? In this study, we empirically investigate whether and how admission probability is reflected in application choices in a centralized admission system. We exploit a novel setting of a dynamic deferred acceptance mechanism as employed in Croatia with hourly information updates and simultaneous application choices. This setting allows us to explore within-applicant strategic adjustments as a reaction to changing signals on admission probability. We show in an RDD analysis that applicants react to negative signals on admission probability with an increased propensity to adjust their application choices by 11-23%. Additionally, we show how application strategies evolve over time, while applicants learn about their admission probability. The group most-at-risk to remain unmatched improves their application choices by applying to programs with a higher admission probability towards the application deadline. Yet, we also identify a popular and potentially harmful strategy of applying to safer programs before applying to more risky "reach" programs. About a quarter of applicants have the potential to improve their application choices by resorting their application choices.
Schriftenreihe
IWH discussion papers ; 2025, no. 9 (June 2025) ppn:837399270