Do they match? Prospective students’ experiences with choosing university programmes

Abstract

When transitioning from high school to university, young people must choose a programme that fits them. We argue that prospective students who can test this fit before starting the programme, will make a better choice. We propose an integrated framework where testing person-environment fit on ability beliefs, interests and sense of belonging possibly contributes to making the right choice. Dutch matching procedures are supposed to serve as a fit-test for prospective students choosing a university programme. 61 prospective students at four Dutch universities were interviewed on the role of matching in their programme choice. Different elements of matching appear to allow for testing fit but vary in which aspects of fit can be tested and the impact they have. It can be cautiously stated that the more aspects of fit that can be tested, the more a matching procedure impacts prospective students’ final programme choice.