We study the effects of learning intensity and duration of high school on students' motivation, abilities and achievements at university. The empirical analysis is based on primary panel data from an education reform in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt that reduced university preparatory schooling from 13 to 12 years but left the curriculum unchanged. The estimates show some impacts on students' perceptions of learning abilities, but the probability of university drop-out and the final grade remain unchanged. By and large, the findings indicate that students affected by the reform are similarly motivated and skilled compared to the counterfactual situation.