The Hesitancy of the Top Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds to Apply to the Best Universities

Abstract

Even the brightest students from underprivileged families do not apply to the top colleges in the world. Students are greatly discouraged from applying to the best colleges by the feeling of insecurity and the environments of students aside from the universities’ strict standards and prerequisites. However, the most important factors when deciding not to apply to these universities after being influenced by their environments and insecurities are the heuristics they use as a shortcut under conditions of uncertainty. The heuristics which activate in case of making decisions regarding applying to the colleges are availability, status quo bias and disappointment aversion. Additionally, three broad kinds of datas are used for the analysis of students’ college choices in this paper. Consequently, this study aims to eliminate some form of inequity among students and to open doors for outstanding students from disadvantaged background.