The Power of Privilege: Yale and America's Elite Colleges

by Joseph A. Soares

It is widely assumed that admission to elite U.S. universities is based solely on academic merit--the best and brightest are admitted to Harvard, Yale, and their peer institutions as determined by test scores and GPA, and not by lineage or family income. But does reality support those expectations? Or are admissions governed by a logic that rewards socioeconomic status while disguising it as personal merit? The Power of Privilege examines the nexus between social class and admissions at America's top colleges from the vantage point of Yale University, a key actor in the history of higher education. It is a documented history of the institutional gatekeepers, confident of the validity of socially biased measures of merit, seeking to select tomorrow's leadership class from among their economically privileged clientele. Acceptance in prestigious colleges still remains beyond the reach of most students except those from high-income professional families. Ultimately, the author suggests reforms that would move America's top schools toward becoming genuine academic meritocracies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Sociology

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally believe that every single person at an elite university and at an elite high school and in the top 1% should have the knowledge that is in this book. meritocracy over social status is a lie (which should be pretty evident from the incomes of the people around me) and this is a deliberate decision made by these elite schools. this book made me kind of miserable though and reminded me of many unpleasant conversations and thoughts. on that note here is my favorite quote from this book, which so interestingly reminds me of the duality of person: "In a follow-up study, Taber and Hackman reanalyzed the same data and came up with seven types of successful students and five types of unsuccessful students. The seven were artists, athletes, careerists, grinds, leaders, scholars, and socializers. The five failures were alienated, directionless, disliked, extreme grinds, and unqualified."

[harvey jade hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this primarily focuses on Yale, I firmly believe this should be required reading for anyone who is attending, planning on attending, or has attended an elite university.

Most of the facts in this were injustices I already vaguely knew to be true, but seeing it blatantly written out and proven over and over again made me so mad that I had to continuously put this down and take a walk. The admissions process at elite college was made to be so unfair for marginalized groups.

Very well put together. Loved the proposed solutions in the conclusion.

[Rey Ganotice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult but such a powerful read. Something I wish I read back in high school.

[Hong Deng · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by an exceptional critic, Joseph Soares, who expertly examines the correlation between one's social status and the chance of getting into the tope colleges in the United States. The book provides many insighful ideas that introduce readers into the mist of admissions to prestigious colleges. It focuses on the admission history of Yale, one of the most selevtive and well-known colleges in the country. In addition to different voices from many prominent scholars and critics, Joseph Soares also offered his advice on how to improve the admission process into a purely meritocracy based selection.

[Kathy Godwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book with a lot of information about Yale admissions. Good for higher ed students to consider, but the book is difficult to read at times.
While the information on California and the use of SAT is helpful, the flow of the book seems almost interrupted by the insertion.
I'd recommend it to other higher ed students, but please realize that the reader may be trying to determine which timeline, president, or policy is in effect at any moment in the book.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soares takes a subject with great potential, but delivers a dry, monotonous book. The history of admissions at Yale could be fascinating, but his tone and ubiquitous charts and numbers combine to create an uninspired text. It is by no means a bad book, but disappointing nonetheless.

[Stoneelizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about discrimination against Jews in the past century of higher education (Yale especially)