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A college education has become the standard pathway to a middle-class lifestyle and, for the professional and upper class, an assurance that their children will not become downwardly mobile (Ehrenberg, 2005; Karabel, 2005; Walpole, 2007). While children of non-college-educated parents usually seek entrance to the state college systems, it is the children of college- educated parents who have placed increasing importance on a small number of elite colleges whose degrees also confer status credentialing (Collins, 1979; Ehrenberg, 2005; McDonough, Antonio, Walpole, & Pèrez, 1998). The extra patina of status makes elite colleges a most desirable goal for applicants, and these colleges have experienced a steady rise in the number of applications for admission.1 A consequence of increased demand is the extent to which elite colleges can exercise greater control over the student characteristics to which they give preference for acceptance. The relative scarcity of first-year seats available at elite colleges empowers these colleges to "define" their student body according to criteria other than merit. This phenomenon raises questions about who and what college is for, and who gets admitted and why.
A student-centric perspective defines college as both reward and opportunity for students of high ability. According to this perspective, admission to elite colleges is awarded to students as a function of their increasingly meritorious achievements. Alternatively, the organization-centric perspective is based on competition among colleges in the overall system of higher education, and elite college admission is based on the ability of particular students to meet the needs of particular college organizations.
This paper extends the work of several scholars who have recently assessed the admissions policies at one or, at most, three elite colleges (Karabel, 2005; Soares, 2007; Stevens, 2007). Although single-institution studies are valuable for the level of detail and personal character they impart to an analysis, a multi-institution study establishes the normative atmosphere in which all elite colleges operate. As admissions practices become common across many colleges, the need for and legitimacy of these practices is justified by both organizational actors and external observers. Investigated here are the admissions policies at 17 elite colleges, and this paper better determines the influence on the evaluation of student applications of the student-centric, merit perspective versus the organization-centric, competition perspective. In addition, I discuss...