The Prevalence of Academic Undermatch in the United Kingdom

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 78
  In Roundtable Session: International and Comparative Policy Issues: Undermatching, Student Attrition, and Knowledge Mobilization

Abstract

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to attend a selective university than their richer counterparts, even when they have similar prior test scores. US research has highlighted the phenomenon of ‘undermatch’, where a student’s academic credentials would permit them to access a university that is more selective than the one they attend. In this paper we estimate the extent of academic undermatch in the UK – the first study to do so. We find that undermatch is less prevalent than in the US, but nevertheless 22% of UK students undermatch, and that undermatch is most prevalent among high attaining, disadvantaged students. This has important implications for disadvantaged students’ future earnings and employment prospects, and hence for equity and social mobility.

Authors

• Gill Wyness, University College London

• Richard Murphy, The University of Texas - Austin

• Stuart Campbell, University College London

• Lindsey MacMillan, University College London