The National Bureau of Economic Research recently released a study that found more than half of all college students are either under-qualified or overqualified for the college they are attending. The bureau reported that about 28 percent of students could have gone to a better school, while about 25 percent of students had not been properly prepared for the school they were currently attending. 

Eleanor W. Dillon, an assistant professor of economics at Arizona State University, and Jeffrey A. Smith, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, performed the study by assigning students and universities a percentile. 

Dillon and Smith determined rankings using a variety of factors including test scores. When a student and university differed by more than 20 points, the researchers considered that student over or under matched. 

Paul Umbach, an associate professor in the department of Leadership, Policy and Adult and Higher Education, said this is a fairly new but phenomena, but it’s gaining attention quickly. 

“I hadn’t seen a whole lot of detailed literature on it previously,” Umbach said. “Although today, it seems like there’s greater interest in it.” 

Tommy Griffin, director of admissions at N.C. State, is among those interested in this issue, however he has been following the trend for a while. Griffin highlighted one report in particular to show that this research is not entirely new. According to Griffin, College Board reported 41 percent of college freshman were overqualified for the university they chose to attend about one year ago. 

“This [NBER] study is just one of several studies, even a couple of books, about this topic,” Griffin said. “This isn’t the first time it has been brought up.” 

One reason for increased interest is the concern that overqualified students aren’t reaching their full potential. Both the NBER study and College Board study found a correlation between the amount of information an applicant has about a school and the likelihood of over or under matching. Typically, the more information an applicant has about a school the less likely he or she will mismatch him or herself. 

Often, applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have less access to information and are under-matched, according to the study. Umbach said this consequence is likely what the scientists were attempting to uncover. 

“People from low income families at times have a perspective that limits their choices,” Umbach said. “They think ‘I could never afford it’ or ‘I could never get in,’ when, in fact, they can afford it and can get in. But given the information that they have, perhaps that’s not seen in the realm of possibility for them.” 

However, both Umbach and Griffin said the notion of under-matching and overmatching based solely on student ability is too simplified. 

“There are a variety of reasons that aren’t really captured by simply suggesting that overmatching or under-matching,” Umbach said. “The amount of information an individual has about a campus can influence a decision. The kind of advice they’re getting from peers or family or friends or guidance counselor can shape a decision. These are factors far beyond the ability of the rest of the student body.” 

While admissions officers should consider the notion of mismatching, the broader idea of “fit” is far more important, Griffin said.

“I think this is a framework for talking about admissions and about where students should best be placed—where the best fit is,” Griffin said. “We talk and have for at least 30 years in the admissions profession about fit.” 

“Fit,” according to Griffin, can include social life, geographic location and affordability. 

“I like to use the analogy that different plants thrive in different types of soil,” Griffin said. “Some will grow better in sandy soil. Others will grow better in clay. Others will grow better in acid soil. It’s not that one type of soil’s better than the other; it’s where that plant will grow best. It’s the same thing with students. Finding that fit is the crucial factor.”

For Madison Brantley, a freshman who said she wants to major in genetics, fit was about location. 

“I wanted to stay in North Carolina,” Brantley, a North Carolina resident, said. 

“There are very legitimate reasons why students choose to attend a school that, on paper, may look like it meets a mismatch criteria,” Griffin said. “It’s just an oversimplification, I think.”

What matters to Griffin and the rest of the N.C. State Admissions Office is ensuring that all students who get accepted achieve their potential. 

“[This study] is a way for us to talk about what does make a good fit for a student,” Griffin said. “That, to me, is really the critical issue. That fit, and then once we do admit a student and enroll a student, how we are working to help them reach their potential.”