Based on the careful examination of more than 500,000 applications to fourteen elite colleges and hundreds of interviews with students, counselors, and admissions officers, this book details the advantages and pitfalls of applying early as it provides a map for students and parents to navigate the process.�The Early Admissions Game is intended as an expos�, for high-school students and their parents, of the realities of college admissions, but it is also a protest against the practice of early admissions. The authors believe that these programs benefit privileged students � [and] cheat disadvantaged students.��Louis Menand, New Yorker�The authors present a devastating portrait of elite college admissions�and early admissions in particular�as an elaborate and complicated �game� � [where the winners] tend to be privileged students who have access to highly skilled counselors with information pipelines to elite college admissions offices.��Peter Sacks, The Nation

The Early Admissions Gameis intended as an exposandeacute;, for high-school students and their parents, of the realities of college admissions, but it is also a protest against the practice of early admissions. The authors believe that these programs benefit privileged students...[and] cheat disadvantaged students.

The authors present a devastating portrait of elite college admissions--and early admissions in particular--as an elaborate and complicated 'game'...[where the winners] tend to be privileged students who have access to highly skilled counselors with information pipelines to elite college admissions offices.

Based on the careful examination of more than 500,000 applications to 14 elite colleges and hundreds of interviews with students, counselors, and admissions officers, this book details the advantages and pitfalls of applying early as it provides a map for students and parents to navigate the process.

Christopher Averyis Professor of Public Policy, <>Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.Andrew Fairbanksis former Associate Dean of Admissions at <>Wesleyan University.Richard Zeckhauseris Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy, <>Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Introduction: Joining the Game

1 The History of Early Admissions

2 The State of the Game

3 Martian Blackjack: What Do Applicants Understand about Early Admissions?

4 The Innocents Abroad: The Admissions Voyage

5 The Truth about Early Applications

6 The Game Revealed: Strategies of Colleges, Counselors, and Applicants

7 Advice to Applicants

Conclusion: The Essence of the Game and Some Possible Reforms

Appendix A Median SAT-1 Scores and Early Application Programs at Various Colleges

Appendix B Data Sources

Appendix C Interview Formats

Notes

Acknowledgments

Tables and Figures Index