Admissions Confidential: An Insider's Account of the Elite College Selection Process

by Rachel Toor

There are hundreds of books available that coach kids on writing college application essays, improving SAT scores and trying to beat the admissions system. Admissions Confidential is a definitive look at why those books don't work. Toor lifts the veil on a process that anxious parents and high school students have never had decoded before. And they may be shocked to find:

--that elite colleges spend thousands of dollars recruiting students they will never admit
--why some students at the bottom of their high school classes are admitted to top schools when the valedictorians are rejected
--how pricey independent college counselors can hurt an applicant's chances
--why admission to a top school depends on who reads your application
--why the top of the class at a high-performing high school may end up at their second and third choice

Written in engaging first-person and covering the entire admissions process--from recruiting to enrollment-- Admissions Confidential is a year in the life of a college admissions officer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, College, Biography Memoir

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're an ambitious parent looking for secrets to getting your child into the "right" schools, this is not the book for you. If you enjoyed "Race to Nowhere" and are concerned about high school kids becoming caught up in a rat race of activities pursued not out of passion, but out of fear of being left behind, then this glimpse into the somewhat arbitrary, all too imperfect system of college admissions will be intriguing. I admire the author's conscience, open-mindedness, awareness of privilege and bias, and genuine care for the young people she assisted. These sentences from the final chapter sum it up well: "There's a meaninglessness in the clarity with which some of these kids plan out their careers. "I want to be a lawyer"; "I want to go into business." They have no idea, usually, what it's like to work in these fields. What if they come to college and decide they love classical philology or the study of the Tibetan diaspora, or the history of Shaker furniture? What if they come to college and are never exposed to disciplines they've never heard of, sticking instead to some ill-conceived childhood ambition?" Everything Toor describes echoes the lament in "Race to Nowhere" that we are pushing kids to be wonderful college applicants at the expense of helping them grow into excellent college students.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read into the inner workings of admissions offices of private colleges. Also, vaguely depressing when you realize the absolute futility of it all. Something excellent to give high school juniors and seniors to read.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acute insight into elite colleges; but more importantly I began musing on the power of the top universities, especially the ivy leagues. We attack conglomerates and have laws controlling them, not letting them hoard resources and wealth. Why shouldn't we do that with these universities who have the momentum of accumulated donations and investments to suck up much of what's left in the small pool of talented professors and students? Market forces should not be the model that higher education follows in this regard. Otherwise, another creeping aristocratic elite will form as in the military, finance, religion, etc., undermining our fundamental democratic system.

[Joe Tynan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have two kids in high school, one a senior this year, and this was informative. I also learned that I need to make sure they chill out a little through the whole process . . .

. . . me too, come to think of it.

[Natalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not find this book useful. It makes quite a depressing read. It's main message - all efforts are futile and admissions to elite colleges are out of reach for most students and more like a lottery system. I also found her writing style as putting off and grumpy. I will not recommend this book to my college bound teenager.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure whether this made me feel better or worse about the college process, but it was definitely eye-opening.

[Jessica Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written - read like a memoir with loads of details and inside scoop on the admissions process - loved every bit.

[Yisu Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

结果，描述大学入学最好的书不是由职业学者写成的。毫不意外？吐槽之外，由衷赞叹这本书。我是从头到底一页一页用narrative mode读完的，值得每一分钟。写作技巧甩学术著作N条街+各种洞见扑面而来。

[Candie Hardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revealing information about what happens after you click submit. Not quite as useful as Selingo's book: Who Gets In and Why, but only because it is significantly older. If you have time, read both.

[Paisley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may be beneficial to high school freshmen and sophomores, but would probably cause the average junior/senior college-bound student stress.

Rachel Toor had some good insights for what makes a strong candidate for elite colleges, and she also talked about how absurd admissions can sometimes be. Three takeaways regarding insights were 1) apply early to college because there's a higher admittance rate for early decision; 2) don't write what you think admissions officers want to hear (your story, your personality, your passions make for a more interesting essay and may supplement deficiencies elsewhere in your application); and 3) if you don't come from money then research exclusive societies based on academic merit and zealously work to be part of them. Frequently, she cites examples of BWRK (bright well-rounded kids) who don't make the cut specifically for Duke University, but I suspect similar criteria are applicable for many others as well.

As she states in the beginning and the end, she worked in admissions for three years before she decided to quit and write a book about it. She comes off as both sympathetic and discerning. Overall she seems unenthusiastic to have to dole out rejection letters to so many high school students. Reading her stories made me think that anyone working in admissions for too long has or develops a superiority complex. Rachel Toor doesn't come off this way, though, and her book makes for an interesting read.

3 of 5 stars - I liked it, didn't love it - The stories become a little redundant, but it's written well and the information is good.

[el · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there were more people like Rachel in admissions.

"The youth of the university is one of the things that make it distinctive. In 1924, with $40 million dollars of tobacco money, James Buchanan Duke decided to create a research university out of what was originally a small regional college. So unlike our peers (we considered our "peers" to be Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT-though I wondered if they ever mentioned Duke in the same breath), all of whom strive to establish priority, to be the oldest, we embrace the newness of Duke and argue that it makes us more interesting, less institutionally self-satisfied, less tradition bound, and more willing to try new things...'I consider Duke...the Doogie Howser of American universities. We're a baby on the higher education scene. But in just seventy-five years we've managed to accomplish what it took our peer institutions a couple of centuries.'"

"The notion of a perfect school or a perfect degree is as ridiculous as it is pernicious. Students should take time in high school to pursue actual interests rather than résumé-padding activities. They should also realize that unless they discover a protein or publish a novel, they are going to look a lot like all of the other qualified applicants. If they don't get in to their first-choice school, they need to know that they are not being found lacking as a person; it is their application that is being denied."

[Readersaurus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is over 10 years old so I am reading it more as Toor's memoir of her years working in elite college admissions than as any kind of advisory guide for the nervous parent.

I enjoy her style. (She's clearly kind of mad at the whole admissions world, though.) It's very telling that Toor, who got into her first choice college (Yale) leans towards the philosophy of not making such a god-awful big deal about attending the ivies. Though she was eager to attend Yale, and it almost certainly opened those doors of the Oxford U. Press and Duke to her, she is clear: "While I was there I never used the words "Yale" and "happy" in the same sentence." (p. 4) (In her YA novel, she directly attributes this sentiment to one of the main character's favorite teachers.) I didn't think I'd want to read a book about someone owning a pig with her ex-boyfriend, but the little taste of it we get here sounds fun. I'll be looking for it.

In the long run, how can our kids have happy lives? Is going to the best college a critical ingredient? If being a BWRK (bright well-rounded kid) is a drawback on your application (so ordinary!), isn't it a plus in life?

I teared up reading the excerpts she included from kids' personal essays. Here's what I learned: no one else is going to think your kid is special. But you know your kids are amazing! So, be sure to love them up and make them strong so they can face the world that may or may not take the time to get to know them.

[Maury]

The book is now old (2001 publication date) and it has some bits and pieces that are particular to Duke's admissions. And many of the details of college admissions and high school life have changed. Don't rely on this book for nitty-gritty details of college admission!

It made for an interesting read. Between it and The Gatekeepers, you get a good view of the admissions process at highly selective colleges. I came away liking the author, and feeling even better about Yale (Toor's alma mater) and how it treats undergraduate education, since Toor's assumptions about the role of and undergraduate education mesh very nicely with my own. (No, I don't feel any better about Duke. No worse, but no better.)

In any event, for those of you looking for some high-level reading to start thinking about the process, I think it's worth a read. It's a fast read, and there are some obvious errors and inconsistencies (a student who is a "he" in one paragraph and a "she" in the next, and not because she's transgendered) but worth a read.

[Cheryl]

Very useful insights into the elite college admissions process. I liked the personal anecdotes about high schools students that the author met during her time in the admissions office at Duke. There are some great examples of admissions essays, which won their authors a place on the Duke admit list.

[Malinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever had any ties to admissions, I think this is a great book to read. There are times when it will crack you up, remind you days gone by, and also make you thankful for ever surviving the admissions process, regardless of the school. Definitely worth reading.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing too surprising, having worked in 'the biz', but an easy, fun read for those entering this mania for themselves or their children.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on Duke Admissions - good inside look at the admissions process and the serendipity of the whole thing.

[Laura Dye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look behind the scenes.

[Shayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insights, combined with Rachel Toor's excellent (as always) writing.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this better than The Overachievers.

[RoseMary Achey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insiders account of the elite college selection process.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

She gets a lot of things right!

[Craig Lair · Rating 3 out of 5]

gripping and scary, but very cynical.