High school track choice determines college access in many countries. We hypothesize that some qualified students avoid the college-bound track in high school simply because they overestimate admission requirements. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a randomized field experiment that communicated the admission standards of local secondary schools on the academic track to students in Hungary before the application deadline. We targeted the subset of students (“seeds”) who occupied the most central position in the classroom-social networks, aiming to detect both direct effects on the track choice of targeted seeds and spillover effects on their untreated peers. We found neither a direct effect nor a spillover effect on students’ applications or admissions on average. Further analyses, however, revealed theoretically plausible heterogeneity in the direct causal effect of the intervention on the track choice of targeted seeds. Providing information about admission standards increased applications and admissions to secondary schools on the academic track among seeds who had a pre-existing interest in the academic track but were unsure of their chances of admission. This demonstrates that publicizing admissions standards can set students on a more ambitious educational trajectory. We discuss the implications for theory and policy.

中文翻译：

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是的你可以！透明录取标准对高中选道的影响：随机现场实验

高中课程选择决定了许多国家的大学入学机会。我们假设一些合格的学生只是因为高估了入学要求而在高中时避开了进入大学的轨道。为了验证这一假设，我们进行了一项随机实地实验，在申请截止日期之前向匈牙利学生传达当地中学在学术轨道上的录取标准。我们针对在课堂社交网络中占据最核心位置的学生子集（“种子”），旨在检测对目标种子的轨道选择的直接影响和对未处理同龄人的溢出效应。平均而言，我们发现对学生的申请或录取既没有直接影响，也没有溢出效应。然而，进一步的分析，揭示了干预对目标种子的轨道选择的直接因果影响在理论上合理的异质性。提供有关入学标准的信息增加了对学术轨道有兴趣但不确定自己被录取的种子的中学申请和录取。这表明，公布招生标准可以让学生走上更雄心勃勃的教育轨迹。我们讨论了对理论和政策的影响。提供有关入学标准的信息增加了对学术轨道有兴趣但不确定自己被录取的种子的中学申请和录取。这表明，公布招生标准可以让学生走上更雄心勃勃的教育轨迹。我们讨论了对理论和政策的影响。提供有关入学标准的信息增加了对学术轨道有兴趣但不确定自己被录取的种子的中学申请和录取。这表明，公布招生标准可以让学生走上更雄心勃勃的教育轨迹。我们讨论了对理论和政策的影响。