Privileged background is most important factor in whether a child goes to university, study finds | Education - The Telegraph

Having privileged parents is the most important factor for determining whether a student will go to university, a study has found by Camilla Turner, Education Editor.

Academics from York University analysed data from 5,000 children born in the UK

Academics from York University analysed data from 5,000 children born in the UK between 1994 and 1996 to see which factors were most important for predicting academic success. 

They found that the most crucial factor was having parents who are both highly educated and wealthy. This outweighed all other factors, including whether children had a high genetic propensity for education.  

Professor Sophie von Stumm, the lead author of the study, said: “Genetics and socio-economic status capture the effects of both nature and nurture, and their influence is particularly dramatic for children at the extreme ends of distribution...

The study, published in the journal Developmental Science, found that having the right genes for school success is not as beneficial as having parents who are highly educated and wealthy.
Only 47 per cent of children with a high genetic propensity for education but a poorer background made it to university. This compares with 62 per cent of those with a low genetic propensity but parents that are more affluent. Children with a high genetic propensity for education who were also from wealthy and well-educated family backgrounds had the greatest advantage with 77 per cent going to university.
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Source: The Telegraph