College Admissions and Educational Elites

Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites By: Mitchell L. Stevens PRESENTATION BY CHELSIE HOUGHTON

Intended Audience Students Faculty/Staff Parents Image from https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-make-a-persuasive-powerpoint-presentation--cms-25459

Summary of the Book The admissions decisions making process is complex Outside factors, such as relationships with high school counselors at particular schools matter Elite colleges and universities play a central role in producing the nation s most privileged classes Image from https://www.pexels.com/search/books/ Students from affluent families have a distinct advantage

A School in a Garden Why does educational attainment play such an important role in the American class system? Reproduction thesis Transformation thesis Image from https://hr.okstate.edu/employment-opportunities

Numbers Which numbers best represent the institution? For example: SAT Scores Percent of incoming Freshmen in top 10% of their high school class Percentage of minorities In many ways, the College is the students it admits. p. 31 Manipulating numbers to give the most flattering picture of the institution.

Travel The College s reputation and the quality of its applicant pool are dependent upon its connections with high schools nationwide. p. 53

Travel Declining number of students in high school graduating classes has had an impact on college admissions. College admissions officers are now required to branch further out and form connections with a variety of high schools. Affluent families have a distinct advantage Image from https://fox2now.com Connections with guidance counselors

Sports The general relationship between athletic and academic status illuminates why some athletic rivalries are particularly intense, and why the lack of clear rivals arouses suspicion. Schools that view one another as longtime opponents on the athletic field are very often close competitors in the game of institutional prestige. p. 111 Athletic talent competes with academic ability in admissions Athletes and physique in relation to class

Race But even if they were without these ethical commitments, officers at the nation s most prestigious schools would be obliged to work hard to admit students of color, because a racially varied student body is now an important index of institutional quality among colleges and universities in America. p. 143.

Race How does race come into play in admissions decisions? Diversity is a measure of prestige How can admissions officers attract non-white students by celebrating racial differences at a campus that is traditionally and historically white . Image from https://www.krcu.org

Decisions The previously discussed factors impact admissions decisions, but is this the best way to assess quality? Fine vs coarse distinctions Reading & rating, storytelling, and class crafting Image from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/doctors-patients-at-the-crossroads-make-difficult-decisions- together

Yield On the college side, the trick is to get many good or at least decent students to enter one s own institution rather than the competitors. On the student side, the trick is to choose which single invitation to accept from among several, often quite similar, options and, whenever possible, to play the choices off one another and secure better scholarship deals. p. 228.

Yield School side vs student side Emotional decision making Image from https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/10/13/3-ultra-high-yield-dividend-stocks-id-buy-right- no.aspx

The Aristocracy of Merit The ability to make choices which can put a student in a better position for admission to an elite institution is a privilege reserved for affluent families. Selective admissions has profound consequences on the organization of American society. Image from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Meritocracy-s-Discontents/246560

My Reaction Image from http://theconversation.com/britains-great-meritocracy-gap-why-businesses-must-widen-their- talent-pool-67327 Image from https://code.likeagirl.io/the-meritocracy-myth-of-the-tech-industry-in-america- e5c2229c8e40

Questions 1. What kind of value system should our society endorse? 2. Are we really giving young people with less means from lower backgrounds a chance to move up? 3. What could we do better? Image from https://camdenkelly.com/common-job-interview-questions-and-answers/

References Stevens, M.L. (2009). Creating a class: College admissions and the education of elites. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.