Abstract

This paper analyses the efficiency of the entrance tests in comparison with other forms of selection for admission to the University. It is based on the data assembled by the Economics Faculty of the Polytechnic University of the Marche, where all the students are subjected to a non-selective entrance test and where data are available on performance in the first year of study. The results of the empirical analyses show that in practice the entrance test alone yields no additional information to that offered by the school leaving certificate marks and type. The most efficient way to select students (especially in terms of reducing the expected drop-out rate) is based on the general educational attainment, possibly corroborated with performance of a test.