Synopses & Reviews
Every spring thousands of middle-class and lower-income high-school seniors learn that they have been rejected by Americas most exclusive colleges. What they may never learn is how many candidates like themselves have been passed over in favor of wealthy white students with lesser credentials—children of alumni, big donors, or celebrities.
In this explosive book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Daniel Golden argues that America, the so-called land of opportunity, is rapidly becoming an aristocracy in which Americas richest families receive special access to elite higher education—enabling them to give their children even more of a head start. Based on two years of investigative reporting and hundreds of interviews with students, parents, school administrators, and admissions personnel—some of whom risked their jobs to speak to the author—The Price of Admission exposes the corrupt admissions practices that favor the wealthy, the powerful, and the famous.
In The Price of Admission, Golden names names, along with grades and test scores. He reveals how the sons of former vice president Al Gore, one-time Hollywood power broker Michael Ovitz, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist leapt ahead of more deserving applicants at Harvard, Brown, and Princeton. He explores favoritism at the Ivy Leagues, Duke, the University of Virginia, and Notre Dame, among other institutions. He reveals that colleges hold Asian American students to a higher standard than whites; comply with Title IX by giving scholarships to rich women in “patrician sports” like horseback riding, squash, and crew; and repay congressmen for favors by admitting their children. He also reveals that Harvard maintains a “Z-list” for well-connected but underqualified students, who are quietly admitted on the condition that they wait a year to enroll.
The Price of Admission explodes the myth of an American meritocracy—the belief that no matter what your background, if you are smart and diligent enough, you will have access to the nations most elite universities. It is must reading not only for parents and students with a personal stake in college admissions, but also for those disturbed by the growing divide between ordinary and privileged Americans.
From the Hardcover edition.
Synopsis
In this explosive book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Daniel Golden exposes the corrupt admissions practices that favor the wealthy, the powerful, and the famous. Every spring thousands of middle-class and lower-income high-school seniors learn that they have been rejected by America's most exclusive colleges. What they may never learn is how many candidates like themselves have been passed over in favor of wealthy white students with lesser credentials--children of alumni, big donors, or celebrities. America, the so-called land of opportunity, is rapidly becoming an aristocracy in which America's richest families receive special access to elite higher education--enabling them to give their children even more of a head start.
Based on two years of investigative reporting and hundreds of interviews with students, parents, school administrators, and admissions personnel--some of whom risked their jobs to speak to the author--in The Price of Admission, Golden names names, along with grades and test scores. He reveals how the sons of former vice president Al Gore, one-time Hollywood power broker Michael Ovitz, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist leapt ahead of more deserving applicants at Harvard, Brown, and Princeton. He explores favoritism at the Ivy Leagues, Duke, the University of Virginia, and Notre Dame, among other institutions. He reveals that colleges hold Asian American students to a higher standard than whites; comply with Title IX by giving scholarships to rich women in "patrician sports" like horseback riding, squash, and crew; and repay congressmen for favors by admitting their children. He also reveals that Harvard maintains a "Z-list" for well-connected but underqualified students, who are quietly admitted on the condition that they wait a year to enroll.
The Price of Admission explodes the myth of an American meritocracy--the belief that no matter what your background, if you are smart and diligent enough, you will have access to the nation's most elite universities. It is must reading not only for parents and students with a personal stake in college admissions, but also for those disturbed by the growing divide between ordinary and privileged Americans.
Synopsis
NATIONAL BESTSELLER -
"A fire-breathing, righteous attack on the culture of superprivilege."--Michael Wolff, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Fire and Fury, in the New York Times Book Review
NOW WITH NEW REPORTING ON OPERATION VARITY BLUES
In this explosive and prescient book, based on three years of investigative report-ing, Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Golden shatters the myth of an American meri-tocracy. Naming names, along with grades and test scores, Golden lays bare a corrupt system in which middle-class and working-class whites and Asian Ameri-cans are routinely passed over in favor of wealthy white students with lesser credentials--children of alumni, big donors, and celebrities. He reveals how a family donation got Jared Kushner into Harvard, and how colleges comply with Title IX by giving scholarships to rich women in "patrician sports" like horseback riding and crew.
With a riveting new chapter on Operation Varsity Blues, based on original re-porting, The Price of Admission is a must-read--not only for parents and students with a personal stake in college admissions but also for those disturbed by the growing divide between ordinary and privileged Americans.
Praise for The Price of Admission
"A disturbing expos of the influence that wealth and power still exert on admission to the nation's most prestigious universities."--The Washington Post
"Deserves to become a classic."--The Economist
Synopsis
Every spring thousands of middle-class and lower-income high-school seniors learn that they have been rejected by America's most exclusive colleges. What they may never learn is how many candidates like themselves have been passed over in favor of wealthy white students with lesser credentials children of alumni, big donors, or celebrities.
In this explosive book, the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Daniel Golden argues that America, the so-called land of opportunity, is rapidly becoming an aristocracy in which America's richest families receive special access to elite higher education enabling them to give their children even more of a head start. Based on two years of investigative reporting and hundreds of interviews with students, parents, school administrators, and admissions personnel some of whom risked their jobs to speak to the
About the Author
Daniel Golden is Deputy Bureau Chief at the Boston bureau of
The Wall Street Journal, where he has covered education since 1999. Previously, he was a reporter at the
Boston Globe. The recipient of numerous journalistic honors and awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the George Polk Award, he holds a B.A. from Harvard College. He lives with his wife and son in Belmont, Massachusetts.
From the Hardcover edition.
Table of Contents
Introduction : the Tennessee waltz -- How the "z-list" makes the a-list : Harvard's payback for big donors -- Recruiting the rich : development admits at Duke -- The fame factor : celebrity children at Brown -- Enduring legacies : Notre Dame's other tradition -- Title IX and the rise of the upper-class recruited athlete : fencing, crew, and polo scholarships -- A break for faculty brats : free and easy entry for the children of professors -- The new Jews : Asian Americans need not apply -- The legacy establishment : taking on Congress and the higher education lobby -- The challenge of wealth-blind admissions : how Caltech raises standards--and donations -- Ending the preferences of privilege : suggestions for reform.