College Undermatching

There’s a great article in “Inside Higher Ed” written by Scott Jaschik entitled “Admissions Mismatch” in which Scott discusses how many students are either undermatching at colleges or overmatching. If you’re wondering what is meant by undermatching or overmatching, undermatching is not applying to or attending the most prestigious school that will admit a student, while overmatching is applying to or attending a school that you’re not academically qualified for. College undermatching as well as overmatching are on the rise and it’s a trend that has been happening for a while.

According to the piece in “Inside Higher Ed,” “The study — of a large national cohort of students — found 25 percent to be overmatching and 28 percent undermatching. In most cases, the study found, students and their families are responsible for the apparent mismatching that is going on. ‘Perhaps most surprising to us, student decisions drive mismatch in almost all cases. Most students who mismatch either do not apply to a well-matched school or apply and are admitted, but do not enroll,’ the authors write. ‘Typically students who are mismatched aren’t getting rejected by appropriate colleges: they are either not applying, or are getting in and opting not to enroll.’”

Many students who overmatch hail from more highly regarded high schools and more affluent communities. The same is not the case for students who undermatch. As the article in “Inside Higher Ed” points out, it’s not that these students are getting denied admission to more prestigious schools and so choose to undermatch. Often times, they don’t even apply to these more prestigious schools or, if they do, they choose not to go. Financing the tuition can be a major factor here. Do you think that’s one of the main reasons for undermatching? Let us know your thoughts on the subject by posting below!