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arXiv · 2512.16457

Talent is Everywhere, Mobility is Not: Mapping the Topological Anchors of Educational Pathways

Francisco Ríos·Fernanda Muñoz·Valeria Bravo·Gonzalo Castillo·Inti Núñez·Jorge Maluenda-Albornoz·Carlos Navarrete
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Abstract

The relationship between socioeconomic background, academic performance, and post-secondary educational outcomes remains a significant concern for policymakers and researchers globally. While the literature often relies on self-reported or aggregate data, its ability to trace individual pathways limits these studies. Here, we analyze administrative records from over 2.7 million Chilean students (2021-2024) to map post-secondary trajectories across the entire education system. Using machine learning, we identify seven distinct student archetypes and introduce the Educational Space, a two-dimensional representation of students based on academic performance and family background. We show that, despite comparable academic abilities, students follow markedly different enrollment patterns, career choices, and cross-regional migration behaviors depending on their socioeconomic origins and position in the educational space. For instance, high-achieving, low-income students tend to remain in regional institutions, while their affluent peers are more geographically mobile. Our approach provides a scalable framework applicable worldwide for using administrative data to uncover structural constraints on educational mobility and inform policies aimed at reducing spatial and social inequality.

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Francisco Ríos, Fernanda Muñoz, Valeria Bravo, Gonzalo Castillo, Inti Núñez, Jorge Maluenda-Albornoz, Carlos Navarrete. 2025-12-18. Talent is Everywhere, Mobility is Not: Mapping the Topological Anchors of Educational Pathways. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.16457

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