This article from The New Yorker pulls back the curtains on the college admissions process:
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/04/07/030407crat_atlarge?
Louis Menand’s “The Thin Envelope” was published during the time I—and the rest of the high school class of 2004—was in the middle of the college application process, so it evokes a bit of nostalgia.
The article reveals which factors play the biggest role in a student’s chances for acceptance, how universities “juke the stats” to rise in the U.S. News & World Report College Rankings, and why you might have a better chance of getting into Harvard than some of your safety schools.
It paints a vivid portrait of Education’s highbrow shell game and it’s impact on the world at large. It’s an excellent read.
As always, it pays to be prepared.
