The Effect of Simulated College Admissions Games on Understanding and Strategic Behavior in China's Parallel Admission Mechanism: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Last registered on June 27, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effect of Simulated College Admissions Games on Understanding and Strategic Behavior in China's Parallel Admission Mechanism: A Randomized Controlled Trial
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016280
Initial registration date
June 24, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 27, 2025, 8:42 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
China
Region
Shaanxi

Primary Investigator

Name
Ming Jiang
Affiliation
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Yan Chen
PI Affiliation
University of Michigan
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PI Name
Tong Liu
PI Affiliation
National University of Singapore
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PI Name
Onur Kesten
PI Affiliation
University of Sydney
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-06-24
End date
2025-07-10
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates whether experiential learning through a simulated college admissions game improves Chinese high school graduates' understanding of the parallel admission mechanism (平行志愿) and their ability to submit strategically optimal college preference lists. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we compare outcomes between students who only receive written explanations of the mechanism versus those who additionally participate in an interactive simulation game. The study targets students who have just completed the gaokao examination and are preparing to submit their college preferences. We hypothesize that hands-on experience with the game will lead to better comprehension of the mechanism's strategic elements and more optimal preference submissions compared to passive learning through reading alone.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Yan et al. 2025. "The Effect of Simulated College Admissions Games on Understanding and Strategic Behavior in China's Parallel Admission Mechanism: A Randomized Controlled Trial." AEA RCT Registry. June 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16280-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Control Group: Participants receive a comprehensive written description of the parallel admission mechanism, followed by a series of comprehension questions. Correct answers and detailed explanations are provided after each question.

Treatment Group: Participants receive the same written description and comprehension questions as the control group, but additionally participate in a simulated college admissions game before the comprehension questions. The game simulates competition among 18 students for 18 spots across 6 colleges (A-F), with each college offering 3 majors. Participants can list 1-3 colleges and 1-2 majors per college, and must decide whether to accept major reassignment. The game uses a payoff structure where colleges and majors have different point values, with College A being most preferred and College F least preferred. Other simulated students in the game have varying preference patterns to create realistic competition.
Intervention Start Date
2025-06-24
Intervention End Date
2025-07-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Preference List Quality: Self-reported confidence in and satisfaction with actual college preference submissions (measured via follow-up survey 1-2 weeks post-intervention)
Admission Result: The quality of the university and major students get admitted into via follow-up survey and data collection
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Risk-Strategy Alignment: Correlation between measured risk aversion and aggressiveness of submitted preferences
Comprehension Score: Percentage of correct answers on mechanism comprehension questions (measured immediately after intervention)
Strategic Understanding: Ability to identify optimal strategies in hypothetical scenarios (measured through strategy questions)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Study Design: Individual-level randomized controlled trial with two arms (control and treatment)

Population: Chinese high school students who have completed the gaokao examination and are in the process of submitting college preferences

Platform: oTree-based online experiment
Timeline: Intervention delivered during the college preference submission period
Experimental Design Details
Procedure:
1. Informed consent and demographic survey
2. Random assignment to control or treatment
3. Reading materials for Chinese parallel admissions mechanism
4. Comprehension assessment for the mechanism
5. Simulated college admissions game using parallel mechanism (treatment only; see the intervention section for the game environment)
6. Risk aversion measurement (Global Preference Survey items)
7. Follow-up survey after actual preference submission

Randomization Method
Participants will be randomly assigned to control or treatment groups using computer-generated randomization upon accessing the online platform
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
at least 600
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Control: at least 300 students
Treatment: at least 300 students
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials