by Karen Kegel
Suhui Li outside of her academic home, the Rauch Business Center
Exactly how university admissions procedures operate is a mystery to many—including for the thousands of high school seniors who apply to their dream schools each year. One aim that drives the process is constraining matriculation to the most desirable candidates, for this is the stuff from which ratings are made. The decision to admit or reject must also take into account target numbers for the incoming class as well as top students’ likelihood of selecting competing offers.
Third-year Lehigh graduate student Suhui Li, along with Dr. James Dearden and Dr. Chad Meyerhoefer of the Economics department, recently developed a model that quantifies how a possible signal of candidate preferences plays into admissions decisions. The group discovered that students’ contact behaviors—from calling a school across the country to visiting a campus in person—is highly useful for maximizing a particular college’s matriculation outcomes.
According to Suhui, two main methodological procedures got their model, which is based in game theory, off the ground. The game-theoretic parameters were set first. Underpinning the model are the assumptions that colleges have prior beliefs about the probability of an applicant’s preferences, and that applicants’ perceptions inform their estimates of a school’s preferences.
Step two entailed collecting empirical evidence in support of the model based on admissions data from two different universities. As was expected, findings revealed that higher-quality candidates were more likely to contact the schools than lower-quality candidates. In addition, higher-quality candidates who contacted a school increased their probability of admittance. Finally, data suggested that admitting students who were previously in contact with a school increases matriculation rates. In short, taking contacts—otherwise known as “demonstrated interest”—into the admissions equation is greatly beneficial for both parties involved.
Presenting Research on Health and Economics
An international student who received her undergraduate degree in China, Suhui describes the Economics program at Lehigh as “small and cozy”—just the right environment for her to grow her research skills. She also appreciates both the freedom she has to research on her own as well as the opportunities to collaborate with multiple faculty members.
Suhui notes she was very intrigued by this research topic because it has the potential to impact the lives of students and their families across the country. Now, the word is starting to get out—at least in academic circles. In February, Suhui shared initial model results as presenter and session chair at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Economic Association in Philadelphia. Besides putting the finishing touches on an article for publication, the research trio plans to extend their model using larger samples of applicants across a wider range of schools. Once those results are in, there is no doubt every college-bound student in America will take notice.
