Despite the unified system of admission to universities in Russia, applicants can still face unequal access to higher education. This can lead to an inefficient choice of the educational strategy and result in the increased inequality. This paper analyzes the barriers which restrict the interregional accessibility of higher education in the context of the Unified State Exam (USE). We propose an analytical model, reflecting the influence of channels such as family, school characteristics, and place of birth, on the educational strategies of youth. We assume that these factors affect the likelihood of being enrolled at university both directly and indirectly through USE scores. Given the unequal regional economic development and the differences in educational opportunities, we argue that university choice can be limited for certain cohorts of applicants, depending on their place of origin, because of differences in the magnitude of the barriers. An empirical examination of the model, based on data from the longitudinal study 'Trajectories in education and careers', shows that students from Moscow or Moscow Region are most likely to enroll at university, since they face the lowest barriers. The problem of the accessibility of higher education is more acute for residents of large cities or regional capitals: their likelihood of matriculating is limited by a large number of factors (cognitive abilities, SES, school characteristics). Residents of other settlements (small towns or villages), are least likely to be admitted to university, facing the highest barriers and gender inequality.

Despite the unified system of admission to universities in Russia, applicants can still face unequal access to higher education. This can lead to an inefficient choice of the educational strategy and result in the increased inequality. This paper analyzes the barriers which restrict the interregional accessibility of higher education in the context of the Unified State Exam (USE). We propose an analytical model, reflecting the influence of channels such as family, school characteristics, and place of birth, on the educational strategies of youth. We assume that these factors affect the likelihood of being enrolled at university both directly and indirectly through USE scores. Given the unequal regional economic development and the differences in educational opportunities, we argue that university choice can be limited for certain cohorts of applicants, depending on their place of origin, because of differences in the magnitude of the barriers. An empirical examination of the model, based on data from the longitudinal study 'Trajectories in education and careers', shows that students from Moscow or Moscow Region are most likely to enroll at university, since they face the lowest barriers. The problem of the accessibility of higher education is more acute for residents of large cities or regional capitals: their likelihood of matriculating is limited by a large number of factors (cognitive abilities, SES, school characteristics). Residents of other settlements (small towns or villages), are least likely to be admitted to university, facing the highest barriers and gender inequality.

The study provides a review of the admission to universities models in different countries and also a comparative analysis of the educational systems characteristics from an international perspective. The aim of the research is to assess the possible impact of the educational system characteristics on the accessibility of higher education. There is also proposed an analytical model which explains how the level of autonomy and selectivity of the educational system, along with the characteristics of the student financial support influence the level of accessibility of higher education. The framework of the model is supported by the cases of selected groups of countries: post-Soviet countries, the USA and the UK, Scandinavian countries and Western European countries. Based on the classification of higher education systems, countries with the highest level of access to higher education tend to have low levels of autonomy and selectivity, or they also can be characterized by highly developed system of financial support. As a result, it was found that high selectivity and autonomy level can negatively influence the accessibility of higher education, while high level of the financial support system may neutralize this effect and positively influence on the access to higher education. Results of the study can be useful while reforming the selection system in Russia, since comparative analysis shows which tools make it possible to increase the accessibility of higher education and, as a result, to reduce educational inequality among different social groups.