Is There a Relationship Between the Birth-Date and Entering the University?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the “date of birth” influences the process of gaining access to university. To this end, we considered the distribution of the birth dates during the year, the qualifications required to enter the University of the Basque Country and the selected degree of 32,740 students who had entered the University from 1999 to 2004. Correlation analysis demonstrated that there is a small (r=-0.015) but significant (p=0.011) relationship between date of birth (January 1st =1; December 31st = 365) and the average grade students obtained in their university admittance exams. Moreover, this difference is more marked in certain degrees such as Medicine, Audiovisual Communication, Psychology, Engineering, Fine Arts or Physical Education. The effect may be due to a different degree of maturity between the adolescents born in January and those born in December. Thus, the former may be more mature and obtain better qualifications in secondary school. In conclusion, the data suggest that the “date of birth” factor influences the process of gaining access to university. Therefore special attention should be made to avoid the potential disadvantages associated with being born late in the year.