Blog #2: Scouting the Territory

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Where I currently stand:

My topic idea has changed after I narrowed my ideas. I initially wanted to research on the "value of earning a college degree," but I thought this topic was quite broad and I found myself more interested in the "inherited meritocracy" discussed in Paying for the Party. I am curious how is it that the elites are still enjoying privileges in a society where their advantages are deemed problematic and meritocracy is despised. I would like to devote my research into the admissions process of elite colleges and examine how meritocracy plays a pivotal role in the college admissions game. Furthermore, I would like to explore how competitive college rankings has led Ivy League schools to promote diversity and examine what kinds of diversity are actually valued and how they are achieved in the admissions process.

I have named my blog after InGram Pinn’s illustration of the “Green Carpet” which symbolizes bribery in college admissions. Though my research is not primarily focused on bribery, I still wanted to name my blog “The Green Carpet” as I regard inequality of meritocratic advantage equivalent to that of bribery. 

What I found Online:

I found a phenomenon called "undermatching" in which poor students don't apply to elite colleges though they have sufficient qualifications. The "undermatching" phenomenon shows how low-income and minority students are placed at a disadvantage in the meritocratic competition. 

Article on "undermatching" : https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/when-disadvantaged-students-overlook-elite-colleges/558371/

Books:

  • The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges
This book would be really useful as it explores how rich elite parents use their wealth and power to channel their children into premier colleges
  • Educating Elites: Class Privilege and Educational Advantage
Chapter Six of this book would really help my research as it illustrates how elite boarding schools enable under-qualified students to enter elite colleges. It also explores what kinds of diversity are valued and how they are achieved by the elite colleges. 
  • The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good?
This book would be useful as it provides thorough investigation on how meritocratic system operates within the private education

Controversies:

The idea of meritocracy sounds perfect: rewarding based on ability and effort. However, this well-intended meritocracy has instead contributed to exacerbating inequality and stifling social mobility— lower- and middle- class simply can’t afford the expensive private education to outcompete the rich students in the meritocratic competition. It seems that entry to elite colleges has become a rich person’s affair under the meritocratic principles. 

 



Comments

  1. Michael GoellerFebruary 7, 2021 at 11:37 PM

    This looks good. There is a section of The chosen : the hidden history of admission and exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton by Jerome Karabel (available at the Rutgers libraries) that also addresses the question of "meritocracy." The book itself also speaks to the social closure that makes many institutions so exclusive.

    It would also be worth mentioning the Varsity Blues scandals.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael GoellerFebruary 8, 2021 at 2:22 PM

    There is a great section of The Chosen by Karabel (which I see you cite) that discusses the origins of the term "meritocracy" and its "dark side." See page 555 and after in his book. And Lani Guinier's "Tyranny of Meritocracy" is worth looking at.

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