Social Origin, Institutional Sorting, and Student Experience in Swiss Higher Education

Status

Working paper.

Summary

One line of research shows that students from advantaged families reach more prestigious institutions. Another shows that students from less-educated families report weaker belonging and more financial strain. The two rarely meet. It is therefore unclear whether unequal experience reflects where students study, or whether it persists among students at the same institution. I analyse four waves of the Swiss Survey on the Social and Economic Situation of Students (2013 to 2024; 69,988 students). Sector and institution come from administrative records. I measure social origin by parental education. I first locate sorting between sectors, institutions and fields. I then estimate origin gradients in belonging and financial strain, with and without controls for sector, institution and field.