Books on College Admissions: Who Gets In and Why, by Jeffrey Selingo
Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, by Jeffrey Selingo
Published in 2020
Amazon link
My Rating: 5 stars
Books on College Admissions: Who Gets In and Why
If you want to know more about what admissions officers do with your application at more selective colleges, and how they decide who attends and who does not, this is the book for you. It’s an easy read with lots of stories within stories to keep you entertained and turning the page.
The key takeaway: more factors than just your grades and test scores influence admit decisions. And it's probably not you (the student); it's the college or university and their priorities that most heavily influence admission outcomes.
The author provides detail on the practices used at three different schools:
Emory University in Atlanta, a selective private university
Davidson College near Charlotte, North Carolina, a liberal arts college
University of Washington in Seattle, a public flagship university
And, follows the application process and decisions of a few high school students.
How Will This Book Will Help You?
Buyers and sellers, and a very useful (free) website. In Mr. Selingo’s own words -
The sellers are the “haves” of admissions. They are overwhelmed with applications, many from top students. They don’t need to buy students with tuition discounts to fill their classrooms. Most sellers offer financial assistance only to students who really need it or are truly exceptional.
The buyers are the “have-nots” in terms of admissions—although they might provide a superior undergraduate education. Rather than “select” a class, their admissions officers must work hard to recruit students and they must discount tuition through merit aid to fill classroom seats and beds in dorm rooms.
His free website contains a downloadable list of schools, bucketed into these two categories. If you are looking for merit-based aid - that is, dollars (scholarships, grants, discounts, etc…) awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional talent or promise, e.g. grades, athletics, music and arts, and leadership - you are probably most interested in schools that are buyers.
Understanding holistic admissions. You may not be familiar with this term. In a nutshell, holistic admissions is a college admissions process that considers the whole applicant, not just numerical measures such as grades and test scores, when deciding who gets in. This book on college admissions provides detail about who gets in and why. Extracurricular activities, the rigor of your courses, letters of recommendation, legacy admissions, athletic prowess and other talents, college interviews, and demonstrated interest can all play a role in holistic admissions.
