In the admissions office at Emory, a highly selective research institution, officers hurriedly read through applications of students who have been tentative additions to the university’s undergraduate program. However, algorithms that Emory uses to predict its yield—the number of accepted students who will actually enroll—show that admitting all these students will leave them 300 people above their target class size. As a result, staff must now “shape down” the admits by 1,000 students, resulting in a harrying rush where previously approved seniors with astronomical SAT and ACT scores, a long list of AP classes, and impressive extracurricular involvement are quickly moved from accept to deny.
These scenes make up some of the most nerve-wracking moments of Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions by Jeffrey J. Selingo, a journalist with a focus on higher education. In his book, Selingo lays down his findings after spending a year inside the admissions offices of three selective colleges. Colleges tend to be extremely secretive about how their admissions processes work, but after many denials, Selingo was able to gain access to the admissions offices of the aforementioned Emory University, as well as the University of Washington, a top public institution, and Davidson College, a selective liberal arts school in North Carolina.
The result, an inside view into what goes on in the admissions office, and what colleges look for when reading an application, is far from a clear roadmap to a seat at a top university. The factors that colleges take into consideration when deciding who to accept are innumerable, including extra-curriculars, high school curriculum, teacher recommendations, test scores and essays. Aspects entirely out of students’ control like race, economic status, and even gender often come into play. Selingo shows how being a legacy—having a parent who previously went to the school to which a student is applying—or playing a sport can give seniors a huge leg up in the admissions process, and explains how this can be exploited by those in the know, (think the college admissions bribery scandal from last year).
Moreover, Selingo follows the application processes of three high school seniors to give readers the student and family perspective of college admissions. Two of these students, Grace, from San Francisco, and Nicole, from our very own Chapel Hill, are what he calls “drivers,” students who push themselves with their family in tow along the road to an elite university. Encouraged by their parents and college counselors, they start looking at schools in their junior year, and are set on going to a place with national renown. The cost never comes up until the very end, or isn’t discussed at all. The other, Chris, from rural Pennsylvania, is a “passenger.” Because of his family’s economic situation, where Chris will go has only tentatively been discussed. Chris is doing phenomenally well for his circumstances, but he lacks the guidance and resources of the other two students. All the colleges he is applying to were suggested by family or friends, and only one could be considered competitive, even though he is exactly the type of low-income applicant with a lot of potential that top universities say they want.
At a place like East, where the pressure to go to the best college can feel all-encompassing, I think this book carries an important message: where you get in is a result of an institution’s needs and objectives, not a referendum on your worth as a person. It illustrates well how random the process can be, and how even high achieving students have no guarantee of getting into elite universities. I also like that this book shows that there are a wide range of experiences applying to college, and the comparative privilege that students at East often enjoy is not universal. If you have an interest in the college admissions process, or if you are a masochistic senior who wants to keep yourself up at night worrying about your applications, I would give it a read.
Photo by Jenny Blass/The ECHO
