Top colleges are inundated with more well-qualified applicants than they can accommodate.

Jeff Selingo puts it this way, ”What I hope to do in this book is show you that college admissions is a business - a big one - that you have very little control over. Who Gets In and Why helps us all understand that a college is a business, and that as humane and holistic as admissions officers attempt to be, they must produce a class that is good for the business - for the college. This book will also go a long way toward reassuring all students that there are many excellent schools who are ”buyers” and that students need to expand their thinking and their college searches. If you have a student who hopes to be admitted to a ”seller,” this book will help them understand that the odds are that they may be rejected - but more importantly that the rejection is likely not a measure of their qualities.

Rather than select a class, their admissions officers must work hard to recruit students to fill classroom seats and beds in dorm rooms.” They have something to sell that consumers want, typically a brand name that signals prestige in the job market and social circles.” ”Buyers” are the ”have-nots” in terms of admissions - although they might provide a superior undergraduate education. ”Sellers” are the ”haves” of admissions. When you read Who Gets In and Why, you are there - with someone alongside you who can explain what is happening and how we got to this place.Īccording to Selingo, in terms of admissions, colleges are either ”buyers” or ”sellers,” and it is essential that students and their parents realize the difference. He interviewed students who were applying to college, he interviewed high school counselors who were preparing students to apply, he interviewed college admissions personnel, and then he sat in the room while decisions were being made and watched how to process played out. Jeffrey Selingo spent a year inside the admissions process. If you have a high school student who is thinking of applying to college, there is no excuse not to read this book. It is a perspective altering book that will help families understand how the admissions process works - especially at more selective schools. Jeffrey Selingo’s book, Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions is an important book for both students and parents. Visit our Resources page for suggestions of important books for college parents and their students.

We’ve offered some lists of recommended reading, and there is something for everyone. There is a wealth of literature available to help parents cope with the transition to college and the changes that occur throughout the college years. From time to time, we like to review some of the books available for parents of college students.

Jeffrey selingo who gets in and why