Do Local Study Environments Matter? A Multilevel Analysis of the Educational Careers of First-year University Students

This article examines the effects of local study environments on the achievements in higher education of Dutch undergraduate students. The authors find that the grade averages, the numbers of courses successfully completed, and the drop-out rates of students vary only slightly in terms of the higher education institution attended. Most of the differences observed are the results of individual factors, i.e., differences in the ways in which students select their institutions and differences in the degree of success of their academic integration into the institutions they chose. The results indicate that when students enroll in higher education there is little benefit for them in selecting the "right" institution. Academic achievement is shaped mainly by individual factors.