Meritocracy and the university: selective admission in England and the United States

Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 7
 Introduction......Page 8
 Who is this book written for?......Page 10
 Why do you look at elite universities in England and the United States?......Page 11
 Where and when did you undertake your research?......Page 12
 Do you say who you have talked to for this project?......Page 13
 Who paid for the research? Has the funding or anyone else influenced what you found in this project?......Page 14
 Why did you write this book? Do you have a personal interest in the topic that may have influenced your writing?......Page 15
 How confident can your readers be in the accuracy of your description of the admissions process?......Page 16
 Structure of the book......Page 17
 United States......Page 18
 England......Page 26
 Chapter summary......Page 33
Chapter 2 The Aims of Admission......Page 34
 The purpose of the university......Page 36
 Admitting ‘the best’......Page 39
 Making a contribution and using opportunities......Page 42
 Models of learning......Page 46
 Admitting groups, admitting individuals......Page 49
 Numbers......Page 51
 Chapter summary......Page 55
 United States......Page 58
 England......Page 65
 Contextualizing attainment......Page 79
 Chapter summary......Page 81
Chapter 4 Special Interest Cases......Page 84
 Athletics......Page 85
 Legacies......Page 89
 Race......Page 94
 Region......Page 97
 Special talents......Page 100
 Extracurricular......Page 102
 Socio-economic......Page 105
 Schooling......Page 108
 Extenuating circumstances......Page 109
 Chapter summary......Page 110
Chapter 5 Applying......Page 112
 Timing of application......Page 114
 The elements of an application......Page 117
 Achievement information......Page 120
 References/recommendations......Page 121
 Essays/personal statement......Page 124
 Alumni interviews......Page 130
 Academic interviews......Page 132
 Chapter summary......Page 133
 Reading......Page 136
 Committee......Page 140
 Deliberation......Page 142
 Shaping the class......Page 144
 Offers......Page 146
 Yield......Page 148
 Chapter summary......Page 151
 Not selective enough......Page 156
 Drawing lines where there are none......Page 157
 The art of deselection......Page 158
 Incommensurability, relational standards and luck......Page 160
 Uncertainty and evidence......Page 163
 Procedural fairness......Page 165
 Legal compliance......Page 168
 Governance......Page 169
 Cooperation and competition......Page 171
 Engaging with the media......Page 172
 Chapter summary......Page 173
Chapter 8 Fair Admission in the Context of Inequality......Page 174
 The challenge of differences in families and schooling......Page 175
 Tackling admission in the context of inequality......Page 180
 Widening the application pool: Outreach......Page 182
 Using Holistic and contextual admissions......Page 184
 Changing the cost of higher education......Page 189
 Changing how elite higher education is viewed......Page 191
 Remaining challenges......Page 193
 Chapter summary......Page 194
 Some things we have learnt about admission......Page 196
 What are the relative merits of pre-qualification systems?......Page 199
 Does it matter whether academics or professionals select students?......Page 200
 How does the implied student model affect admission?......Page 202
 Are the current admissions procedures the best?......Page 203
 Are the differences in admission to the elite universities represented in this book due to the US universities being private and the English universities being public universities?......Page 205
 Does it make a difference whether the US or the English admissions system is used?......Page 206
 Some things we have not learnt – beyond admissions......Page 207
 Are stratified higher education systems better than non-stratified systems?......Page 208
 What happens at university after admission?......Page 209
 What is the longer-term impact of elite higher education on students?......Page 212
 Does elite higher education serve the public good?......Page 216
 Conclusion......Page 217
 United States......Page 220
 England......Page 224
 Chapter 3......Page 227
 Chapter 4......Page 228
 Chapter 8......Page 229
References......Page 230
 Admissions tests, England......Page 234
 Blue-chip athlete, US......Page 235
 Degree classification, England......Page 236
 Grade Point Average (GPA), US......Page 237
 High school (US)/secondary school (England), see also private school, public school......Page 238
 Matriculation, England, US......Page 239
 Private school, US or independent school/public school, England......Page 240
 UCAS, England......Page 241
 Universal application, US......Page 242
Index......Page 243