| Popis: |
We offer a closer look at screening by graduate admissions committees in their selection of student applicants, and at applicants' strategic behavior given screening methods. Essentially, a signaling game takes place between student applicants seeking to signal ability and admissions committees seeking to inferability from proffered applications. In equilibrium, students' decisions to adopt a STEM or a non-STEM major reflect both their desire to imply high ability and the importance that admissions committees place on GPA. We find that, relative to GPA, admissions committees placing a higher weight on graduate entrance-exam scores leads to a higher fraction of students selecting STEM majors. Illustrations of the impact on the equilibrium fraction of STEM majors of grade inflation, and of alternative undergraduate grading systems, are also provided. |
