Admission Test for the First Year: Empirical Evidence from a European Business School

Abstract

The selection of the best students for admission to limited university spaces is a key moment in our society's notion of achievement. Selection processes differ depending on university system, but all involve multiple criteria and instruments. Swiss universities allow students with a recognized diploma to pursue studies (except medical subjects) without a separate admission process. The exception is the University of St. Gallen, which requires all foreigners to pass an admission test. University statutes stipulate that foreign students not exceed 25 percent. The admission test is designed to measure aptitude, cognitive abilities and skills considered relevant to studies.

Investigated in this paper is the extent to which gender-specific differences may be observed and interpreted in the results of individual test sections.

In the United States, gender-specific effects have been studied in extensive empirical analysis of the standardized Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), but focus often lies in validity in predicting academic success. This is not directly comparable to the present study. Few empirical studies have been performed in German-speaking areas, and those mostly look at medical admission, but their findings demonstrate a partial match with the present study.

The admission test consists of five sections: text analysis, quantitative problem solving, pattern recognition, language systems and diagram interpretation.

The present study analyses the results of all admission tests (3131 units of analysis) in 2009-2013.

The sexes and point distributions of the overall score as well as individual sections are first presented descriptively