No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal:
Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life
Thomas J. Espenshade & Alexandria Walton Radford

Cloth | 2009 | $35.00 / £24.95
576 pp. | 6 x 9 | 55 line illus. 81 tables.

e-Book | 2009 | $35.00 | ISBN: 978-1-4008-3153-1

Shopping Cart | Endorsements | Table of Contents
Chapter 1 [PDF]

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.

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

Endorsements:

"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

Table of Contents:

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

Subject Areas:

• Education
• Sociology
• Political Science and International Relations

Shopping Cart:

For customers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Australia
Cloth: $35.00 ISBN13: 978-0-691-14160-2

For customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India
Cloth: £24.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-14160-2

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File created: 11/4/2009

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