Using a natural experiment (a sharp rise in certain fees at the University of Paris 9-Dauphine), we study the impact of fees on students’ pathways and outcomes. We apply an optimal matching method to the national database of student registrations (SISE) to define a typology of pathways. We then use a non-ordered multinomial logit model to evaluate the impact of the rise in fees on the types of pathways selected by the university. We show that there is a significant impact on these pathways. The fee increase reduces geographic and social mobility, thereby accentuating phenomena of social segregation. Furthermore, contrary to what some of the studies on fees assert, the rise does not appear to encourage greater effort: we find no impact on the graduation success rate.