In France, access to prestigious higher education tracks remains unequal. High-performing students from lower- and middle-income households are underrepresented in selective programs such as the French elite Grandes Écoles, compared to their higher income peers, despite efforts to level the playing field. Women - regardless of their household income - are also significantly less likely to pursue these prestigious academic paths. Could expanding financial aid eligibility help close these gaps?
Our study leverages a 2014 reform that raised the income threshold for need-based grants, making roughly 98,000 additional students, who received no money before, to be eligible for a monthly stipend of 100 euros. Using administrative data from the French centralized application platform Admission Post-Bac, we examine how this shift in eligibility shaped students’ top-ranked application choices.
At first glance, the overall effect of the reform appears limited. But a closer look reveals that high-performing male students responded notably: they were significantly more likely to apply to selective long-term programs and less likely to prioritize non-selective options. This shift reduced a substantial part of the application gap between eligible and non-eligible male students.
Why this matters
We provide suggestive evidence that financial aid may have enabled some students - particularly high-achieving young men - to pursue more ambitious options. Survey data indicates that selective programs demand more time and offer less flexibility for part-time work, potentially making financial aid more salient for those considering such paths.
By contrast, female students did not systematically adjust their application choices in response to aid eligibility. Our findings suggest that their plans may have been more firmly set before applying: they submitted fewer applications and finalized them earlier than their male peers.
Policy implications
Financial aid can shape students' educational decisions well before enrollment. But its impact differs - not only by income, but also by gender and performance level. To make selective higher education more inclusive, financial support may need to be complemented by targeted information and confidence-building efforts, particularly for high-performing young women.
This study is available as a CESifo working paper:
Remigereau, C. and Schäper, C., 2024. The Impact of Student Aid Eligibility on Higher Education Applications (No. 11592). CESifo.
