The Gatekeepers: A Look Inside Selective College Admissions

• In Event: 207 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 25. Opportunities to Develop Human Capital

Abstract

This paper draws together what is known about highly selective college admissions within sociology. To extrapolate what is known from the studies conducted to date to selective admissions more broadly, admissions officers from highly selective institutions are interviewed. Preliminary findings show support for the sociological understanding of the admissions process, but some variation in beliefs about the relative importance of some components of the application.

Author

• Jonathan D. Schwarz, University of Notre Dame