No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race & Class in Elite Coll

Against the backdrop of today's increasingly multicultural society, are America's elite colleges admitting and successfully educating a diverse student body? No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal pulls back the curtain on the selective college experience and takes a rigorous and comprehensive look at how race and social class impact each stage--from application and admission, to enrollment and student life on campus. Arguing that elite higher education contributes to both social mobility and inequality, the authors investigate such areas as admission advantages for minorities, academic achievement gaps tied to race and class, unequal burdens in paying for tuition, and satisfaction with college experiences.

The book's analysis is based on data provided by the National Survey of College Experience, collected from more than nine thousand students who applied to one of ten selective colleges between the early 1980s and late 1990s. The authors explore the composition of applicant pools, factoring in background and "selective admission enhancement strategies"--including AP classes, test-prep courses, and extracurriculars--to assess how these strengthen applications. On campus, the authors examine roommate choices, friendship circles, and degrees of social interaction, and discover that while students from different racial and class circumstances are not separate in college, they do not mix as much as one might expect. The book encourages greater interaction among student groups and calls on educational institutions to improve access for students of lower socioeconomic status.

No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal offers valuable insights into the intricate workings of America's elite higher education system.

How do race and social class influence who gets into America's elite colleges? This important book takes a comprehensive look at how all aspects of the elite college experience--from application and admission to enrollment and student life--are affected by these factors. To determine whether elite colleges are admitting and educating a diverse student body, the authors investigate such areas as admission advantages for minorities, academic achievement gaps tied to race and class, unequal burdens in paying for tuition, and satisfaction with college experiences. Arguing that elite higher education affects both social mobility and inequality, the authors call on educational institutions to improve access for students of lower socioeconomic status. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"This original and important book contributes to our understanding of college admissions, as well as the interracial social experiences and growing economic inequality in selective higher education today. Particularly interesting are the simulations of what racial and class compositions might be under different types of admissions criteria, including race-blind and class-sensitive conditions."--Caroline Hodges Persell, New York University

"I am impressed by the depth and breadth of this well-written and accessible book--it represents an important contribution to the literature about how race and class affect college admissions and student life."--Elizabeth A. Duffy, Head Master, The Lawrenceville School

Thomas J. Espenshade is professor of sociology at Princeton University. Alexandria Walton Radford completed her PhD in sociology at Princeton University and is the associate director of postsecondary education at MPR Associates Inc. in Washington, DC.

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter One: Overview 1

Chapter Two: Preparing for College 14

Chapter Three: What Counts in Being Admitted? 62

Chapter Four: The Entering Freshman Class 130

Chapter Five: Mixing and Mingling on Campus 176

Chapter Six: Academic Performance 226

Chapter Seven: Shouldering the Financial Burden 263

Chapter Eight: Broader Perspectives on the Selective College Experience 298

Chapter Nine: Do We Still Need Affirmative Action? 339

Chapter Ten: Where Do We Go from Here? 378

Appendix A: The NSCE Database 411

Appendix B: Notes on Methodology 431

Appendix C: Additional Tables 462

References 483

Index 523