Moving into higher education: An examination of student mobility under the Independent Freshman Admission Program in China

Student mobility, as a significant component of population movements, shapes the distribution of intellectual individuals and reflects regional equity in access to higher education. In China, the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) traditionally governs university admissions through a province-based quota scheme. In 2003, the Independent Freshman Admission Program (IFAP) was introduced to enhance flexibility and university autonomy in the admissions process, in which no quota is set for each province, breaking geographical constraints. However, the extent to which the IFAP has impacted student mobility remains largely unexplored. This study investigates the province-to-university migration patterns under different higher education admission schemes, revealing IFAP's preference for recruiting students from provinces with well-developed basic education and a large student population. Furthermore, under the IFAP, students tend to flow to the top-ranked universities and concentrate in favourable locations, such as First-tier cities, while the quota allocation shows a more balanced distribution. These findings highlight the crucial role of policy in shaping student mobility, particularly within the context of strong institutional forces, and underscore the need to develop refined policies that balance equitable educational opportunities and regional equity.