Selecting Among the Best: Gatekeeping at America's Most Selective Universities

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. College Choice

Abstract

Effectively maintained inequality (Lucas 2001) is a process by the privileged in society secure greater qualitative advantage wherever possible. This project puts forth letters of recommendation as a mechanism of EMI in the admission process at the most selective institutions of higher education in the United States. Using interview data from over a dozen experienced admission professionals, I will look at the role of letters of recommendation in the selection process, what makes a letter of recommendation useful in review, and whether admissions officers perceive differences in these letters. Letters are indeed integral to the review and selection of students at top universities. Unfortunately, the very elements that make letters useful are often found in letters from privileged schools and absent in letters from less privileged schools.

Author

• Jonathan D. Schwarz, University of Notre Dame