Who Gets in and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions

Who Gets in and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions by Jeffrey J. Selingo

This is one of the better explorations of the college admissions process. The author has embedded himself with a few universities (Emory, Davidson and University of Washington). He explores exactly what goes on with the admissions committee. He also covers the history of admissions. The schools are responding to changes in rules as well as working to fill they needs. They are building an appropriate class as well as balancing their budgets. They also need to manage their reputation and rate of admits as well as yield rate.

There is a disconnect between what students think is important and what the colleges care about. Students will stress for hours over essays, but committees will often skim them. They are more interested in the voice and uniqueness rather than the typical "overcoming adversity in sports" essays. A laundry list of activities does not set apart a student. (It is better to show significant involvement.) Even grades and test scores may not guarantee admission if they are not paired with other interests.

Another key aspect is that students are rarely compared with each other. They are typically chosen based on their own merits and how they fit in with a class. Only if there are multiple students from a well-known school will there be some comparison of the students academic experience vs. what was available. Even then, the other factors come into play.

College admissions is a changing game. Lawsuits and regulations are changing how admission committees do their work. The financial age process turns the buyer/seller process upside down. It is an area ripe for innovation. However, regulation and fixed costs have made that difficult.