The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College

First, let me say that I thought that this was an excellent book and would recommend it to anyone who is at all interested in the college admissions process. Second, I was surprised at how many of the reviewers seemed shocked--shocked!--that applicants got bonus points for coming from minority backgrounds. Was this some kind of revelation? However one thing that surprised me a little bit is how--even moving beyond race entirely--the more advantages you have had in life, the more disadvantageous it will be for your admissions process. For example, I was unaware that having successful parents would be, in essence, held against you on the theory that more would be expected of you. While other reviewers have (jokingly?) said that they would advise their white kids not to check the "Caucasian" box, I might advise my (still very young) kids to say that their parents have been unemployed their whole life.I suppose that the main issue which this whole process really boils down to is the following: As a college applicant, is it more important to succeed in life relative to the world around you (i.e. relative to your classmates, to others of your race, to others of your geographical area, to your own parents' life and accomplishments, etc.) or is it more important to succeed absolutely and not on a relative scale. This book clearly informs us that the answer is the former and not the latter. Whether that should be the answer is another question.For example, say that a student's entire life could be distilled into 2 numbers each on a sliding scale from 1-10. The first number is simply your academic performance (grades, SAT's, course load, etc.) The second number is your background (race, economic circumstances, gender, etc.) In the case of Wesleyan, it seems clear to me that they would rather have a student whose first number was, say, a 6 if his or her second was a 2 (take Mig for example in Steinberg's book) than a student whose first number was an 8 if the second number was a 9 or 10 (take Tiffany Wang for example). Whether that is the right approach is certainly a legitimate issue for discusion and I'm not saying that it's not.I suppose that one of the things that would be interesting to know (even though one never really can know of course) is whether those numbers will change in the future. For example, if one were to know that Mig would always be a 6 and Tiffany would always be an 8, would that change the analysis as to which is the right approach? I suspect that part of the reason that a school like Wesleyan would favor the overachieving 6 over the underachieving 8 is due to the hope or expectation that those trends will continue in the future and that one day the 6 will actually be ahead of the 8. And maybe that's the way it works. Who knows.

It was eye-opening to read about how intense some of these teenagers are. I couldn't stop reading and it was fascinating to know all about the applicants and how the college reps are already interested in some of the younger high school kids because of their outstanding abilities. I would highly recommend this book to any parent or student if they want to have an insider's view of the college applications process.

I struggled a little when try to decide how many star to give. It's an excellent book and very informative. It feels like I was not reading a college admission advisory book, which very often are dry and mechanical. It feels like reading stories of students and AOs, I got attached and involved emotionally, and really felt for them. But there were abundant information in the book, I was able to use the book to answer most my questions. If you need a list of YESs, Nos, Warnings..., then this is not the book for you. If you need to know what happens during admission process, then this is an excellent book for you. Based on the information in this book, I was able to extract my own conclusions.The reason I hesitated if I should rate this book as a five stars book is how long ago it was written. A lot has changed. Many aspects stayed same, but many aspects changed. It will be misleading if this is the only guide book you are using. Wish everyone a great college application season.

Learned a lot from the book and will yes it as step by step learning

This is a very interesting work of nonfiction. I found it intriguing and read it very quickly. I actually got invested in these students and their stories and their journey to get admitted to the college that was right for them. BUT, and this is a big but, this book is so poorly edited, it is disgraceful! If a person were reading this for research purposes, and it could be useful for just that, good luck to them. The dates are all over the place. At one point, the kids are being considered for the class of 2004, then it makes a reference to the current year as 2000, then it reverts back to 2004 for a long while, then it mentions how the kids--currently at their various chosen colleges--reacted to the events of 9/11/01. What the hell? It's very confusing. It makes it very difficult to keep things in context.

A terrific book -- on many levels. It is, first, a series of excellent suspense stories, with vivid characterizations of the students seeking admission to Wesleyan. The author found some fascinating students to follow, with the result that the reader really cares what happens to them. Even more important -- especially to someone about to embark on the college hunt -- he provides an invaluable insight into how the admissions process works. The admissions game, I now realize thanks to this splendid tale, is a crazy-quilt mixture: at Wesleyan, at least, the process focuses on the individual, quirks and all, far more than I imagined. At the same time, the process comes off as frighteningly random -- with so much depending on which admissions officer reads the application, and what that person focuses on in the few minutes available. The book is also a vivid reminder that admissions officers are people, too -- people of infinite variety.So it was a pleasure to read -- and it will also prove immensely useful to parents. One common theme kept repeating: take the hard courses, even if it means lower grades. Another: having a passion is a real plus, but the rest of the record can't be a disaster. But those are just the beginning.

One doesn’t encounter a book like this often. Jacques told such a touching story of the yearnings and fightings of high school students and the sweat and toil of the admissions officers at a leading university. Thanks for the years long effort of the author/journalist/detective and the candidness of Wesleyan University, we could be treated to such an inside story of how the system works. Works with its flaw maybe, but all involved trying their very best to bring the best results to the students is simply touching. My respect goes to Ralph and my regards (motherly care and anxiety, couldn’t help it) goes to the very first Indian students at Wesleyan. Wherever he is, wish Mig a most prosperous life. All hardworking and aspirational students who have been through adversity deserve it. Bless Jacques and Ralph for what they have endeavoured.

A great book about the way that things work - almost an interesting social history.If you are reading this because you want to go to a US university then this is an EXCELLENT/ UNSURPASSED view of the selection process - recommended by our school adviser. If you are in the UK read this book in detail and then also contact Fulbright.

A good and informative book but very repetitive and it would be nice if it drew on the experiences of a broader group of universities.

Only started the book and do not like the fact that it devotes an unnecessarily large portion to personal background of the admission officer which serves no real purpose in my mind.