Authenticating Privilege in Global Higher Education: The Case of “Premium” College Counseling in India

• In Event: Tracking, School Choice, Public Funding, and Horizontal Stratification From a Global Perspective

Abstract

This article examines how international educational intermediaries contribute to (re)producing inequality in global higher education by focusing on overseas college admissions consultants serving India's urban elites and upper classes. Through in-depth interviews with 21 "premium" counselors, I find that counselors assert distinction by emphasizing their familiarity with international education and admissions processes at highly ranked overseas universities. They also frame themselves as uniquely ethical and inclusive educational entrepreneurs. These findings highlight the value of "studying up" in investigations of inequality in global higher education, illustrating how the discourse and practices of distinction among elite international educational intermediaries are shaped by status hierarchies among universities, international migration policies, and the complex position of privileged student migrants in competitions for selective colleges.

Author

• Swati Puri, Harvard University