Overview

Each year, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors compete in a game they'll play only once, whose rules they do not fully understand, yet whose consequences are enormous. The game is college admissions, and applying early to an elite school is one way to win. But the early admissions process is enigmatic and flawed. It can easily lead students toward hasty or misinformed decisions. This book - based on the careful examination of more than 500,000 college applications to 14 elite colleges, and hundreds of interviews with students, counsellors and admissions officers - provides an extraordinarily thorough analysis of early admissions. In clear language it details the advantages and pitfalls of applying early as it provides a map for students and parents to navigate the process. Unlike college admissions guides, ""The Early Admissions Game"" reveals the realities of early applications, how they work and what effects they have. The authors frankly assess early applications. Applying early is not for everyone, but it will improve -sometimes double, even triple - the chances of being admitted to a prestigious college. An early decision program can greatly enhance a college's reputation by skewing statistics, such as selectivity, average SAT scores, or percentage of admitted applications who matriculate. But these gains come at the expense of distorting applications' decisions and providing disparate treatment of students who apply early and regular admissions. The system, in short, is unfair, and the authors make recommendations for improvement.

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9780674010550

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Reviews

[This] important contribution to the college-admissions process should reduce the general anxiety that pervades today's transition to college and, in particular, help level the playing field for students who lack access to adequate college counseling. The book may also prompt needed reform of contemporary admissions practices...The authors' goal...deserves acclaim for helping inner-city and rural students and those in other understaffed districts to pursue admission on a much more even footing...There is a wealth of information in this well-organized, clearly-written book which will enable students to make better college choices.--William R. Fitzsimmons ""Harvard Magazine "" Applying to an elite college through an early-admissions program can improve students' chances of getting in by as much as 50 percent over their odds during the regular admissions cycle, a difference that is the equivalent of scoring 100 points higher on the SAT...Based on an analysis of admission data at top colleges, as well as interviews with over 400 college freshmen [""The Early Admissions Game""] challenges the official line of college admissions deans, who have long held that applying early does not give prospective students an advantage over regular applicants. But the research confirms what many high-school counselors already suspected, and it is likely to fuel debate over whether early-admissions programs favor wealthy and well-connected students and should be eliminated or reformed.--Jeffrey R. Young""Chronicle of Higher Education"" (03/07/2003) Avery and his colleagues describe college admissions as a casino on Mars: you have to guess the rules of the game you are playing, and the rules can change while you are playing it...[Their chief finding] is that applying early significantly increases the chances of acceptance...Colleges argue that the early-admissions pool is stronger than the regular pool...[but the authors] dispute that claim...""The Early Admissions Game"" is intended as an expose, for high-school students and their parents, of the realities of college admissions, but it is also a protest against the practice of early admissions. The authors believe that these programs benefit privileged students...[and] cheat disadvantaged students.--Louis Menand ""The New Yorker "" Readers seeking solid information about elite colleges will find ""The Early Admissions Game"" refreshingly frank. Other readers concerned about restoring some equity to the process will also appreciate the book's generosity of spirit and suggestions for reform. The authors present a devastating portrait of elite college admissions--and early admissions in particular--as an elaborate and complicated ""game.""..[where the winners] tend to be privileged students who have access to highly skilled counselors with information pipelines to elite college admissions offices.--Peter Sacks ""The Nation "" ÝThis¨ important contribution to the college-admissions process should reduce the general anxiety that pervades today's transition to college and, in particular, help level the playing field for students who lack access to adequate college counseling. The book may also prompt needed reform of contemporary admissions practices...The authors' goal...deserves acclaim for helping inner-city and rural students and those in other understaffed districts to pursue admission on a much more even footing...There is a wealth of information in this well-organized, clearly-written book which will enable students to make better college choices. -- William R. Fitzsimmons ""Harvard Magazine""

Readers seeking solid information about elite colleges will find The Early Admissions Game refreshingly frank. Other readers concerned about restoring some equity to the process will also appreciate the book's generosity of spirit and suggestions for reform. The authors present a devastating portrait of elite college admissions--and early admissions in particular--as an elaborate and complicated game. ..[where the winners] tend to be privileged students who have access to highly skilled counselors with information pipelines to elite college admissions offices. -- Peter Sacks The Nation

Applying to an elite college through an early-admissions program can improve students' chances of getting in by as much as 50 percent over their odds during the regular admissions cycle, a difference that is the equivalent of scoring 100 points higher on the SAT...Based on an analysis of admission data at top colleges, as well as interviews with over 400 college freshmen [ The Early Admissions Game ] challenges the official line of college admissions deans, who have long held that applying early does not give prospective students an advantage over regular applicants. But the research confirms what many high-school counselors already suspected, and it is likely to fuel debate over whether early-admissions programs favor wealthy and well-connected students and should be eliminated or reformed.--Jeffrey R. Young Chronicle of Higher Education (03/07/2003)

Author Information

CHRISTOPHER AVERY is Professor of Public Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. ANDREW FAIRBANKS is former Associate Dean of Admissions at Wesleyan University. RICHARD ZECKHAUSER is Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

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