Jeffrey Smith and colleague Eleanor Dillon look at factors behind their findings that about 28% of students are overqualified and about 25% underqualified for the colleges they attend. They found that mismatches were more driven by decisions of the students and their families than of college admission offices. Factors include financial and geographic considerations, time off between high school and college, and the availability of college information and role models. [See their NBER paper](http://www.nber.org/papers/w19286).

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