Why Getting into Highly-Selective Universities is Harder for Girls:

<p>The purpose of this paper is to use panel data to investigate gender differences in admission opportunities based on university rank. In particular, we focused on students in elite high schools and analyzed the difference between those who select a lower level of higher education and those who do not when moving from high school to university.<br><br>Regarding the career path after graduating from high school, there was no difference between men and women in the four-year college enrollment rate, but there was a difference in the “ronin”（ students who failed school entrance exams and are studying to try again the following year） rate. Ronin are, so to speak, an indicator of a second chance, but girls are less likely than boys to be given such opportunities.<br><br>That is also reflected in the high proportion of girls going to lower-ranked universities. Examining the difference between those who selected lower-ranking universities and those who did not, it is easy for low-SES girls, girls from rural areas, and girls with low motivation to go on to a lower level university. However, there was no gender difference in mobility depending on SES, degree of urbanization, and motivation to learn. Rather, it became clear that the direct effect of female dummies remains even if the effects of SES, urbanity, and learning motivation are controlled.<br><br>As a result of the analysis focusing on the desired future occupation, it was found that the desire for a medical career, as represented by nurses, and a teaching career, led to downward mobility. It was found that the orientation to choose a career with certainty, which is made possible by acquiring qualifications, works as a mechanism to create career differentiation based on criteria different from academic ability level. The same mechanism that has been pointed out in explaining the behavior of girls entering junior colleges and vocational schools rather than four-year colleges was also confirmed in the track of difficult-to-enter high schools, where upward mobility is likely to be stimulated.<br><br>The analysis in this paper shows that gender role consciousness itself is not a factor that influences entry into highly-selective universities, but the “gender track” that leads women into certain occupations is maintained, and as long as the gender gap in the labor market is not closed, the gender gap in educational opportunities will remain.</p>