Playing the Admissions Game: Student Reactions to Increasing College Competition
研究了过去几十年大学入学竞争加剧的现象，分析了不同能力水平和地区学生的差异，并探讨了学生备考行为的变化及竞争对长期学习成果的有限影响。
Gaining entrance to a four-year college or university, particularly a selective institution, has become increasingly competitive over the last several decades. We document this phenomenon and show how it has varied across different parts of the student ability distribution and across region, with the most pronounced increases in competition being found among higher-ability students and in the Northeast. Additionally, we explore how the college preparatory behavior of high school seniors has changed in response to the growth in competition. We also discuss the theoretical implications of increased competition on longer-term measures of learning and achievement and attempt to test them empirically; the evidence and related literature, while limited, suggests little long-term benefit.