Poorer students choose inferior courses, study finds

Disadvantaged students may attend lower quality universities due to ‘fear of not fitting in’

Students from poorer households are likelier to choose inferior courses than wealthier peers despite having the grades to pick better courses.

Researchers at University College London’s Institute for Education crunched data on over 130,000 students and found a “mismatch” where around a quarter of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds opt for courses at lower tariff universities, despite having the grades to get onto courses at higher tariff institutions.