The Price of Admission

How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges - and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates

By: Daniel Golden

Narrated by: Nancy Linari

Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

National Best Seller

“A fire-breathing, righteous attack on the culture of superprivilege.” (Michael Wolff, author of the number one New York Times best seller Fire and Fury, in the New York Times Book Review)

Now with New Reporting on Operation Varsity Blues

In this explosive and prescient book, based on three years of investigative report­ing, Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Golden shatters the myth of an American meri­tocracy. Naming names, along with grades and test scores, Golden lays bare a corrupt system in which middle-class and working-class whites and Asian Ameri­cans are routinely passed over in favor of wealthy white students with lesser credentials - children of alumni, big donors, and celebrities. He reveals how a family donation got Jared Kushner into Harvard, and how colleges comply with Title IX by giving scholarships to rich women in “patrician sports” like horseback riding and crew.

With a riveting new chapter on Operation Varsity Blues, based on original reporting, The Price of Admission is a must-listen - not only for parents and students with a personal stake in college admissions but also for those disturbed by the growing divide between ordinary and privileged Americans.

Praise for The Price of Admission

“A disturbing exposé of the influence that wealth and power still exert on admission to the nation’s most prestigious universities.” (The Washington Post)

“Deserves to become a classic.” (The Economist)

©2006, 2009 Daniel Golden (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Deserves to become a classic.... Why do Mr Golden's findings matter so much? The most important reason is that America is witnessing a potentially explosive combination of trends. Social inequality is rising at a time when the escalators of social mobility are slowing.” (The Economist)

“The Price of Admission is perfect for those curious about what goes on in college admissions offices because it shatters assumptions about acceptance to elite colleges.... The Price of Admission forces the reader to wonder how affirmative action can be deemed controversial when favoritism of the white and wealthy is overly prominent in elite colleges.... [F]or those interested in the injustices in higher education, this book is a must-read." (Kansas City Star)

“Golden has fun making trouble in the best journalistic sense... The Price of Admission is a powerful reminder that the public will increasingly require selective colleges to defend their preferences; that not all are prepared to make their complex case well; and that some of their practices, finally, seem indefensible today.” (Harvard Magazine)

Everything that's wrong with the college system

When the "Operation Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal news broke, I thought, "Why is this news? This is the norm." The wealthy and privileged have always been advantaged when it comes to getting into top schools, and in this incredible book, Daniel Golden lays it out masterfully. Golden discusses how wealth, donations, legacy preferences and other factors play a major roll in wealthy kids getting into a good college. 

This is one of the books I'm going to have my son read in high school so he understands that colleges aren't necessarily based on merit. Golden's book has countless stories of high achievers not getting into decent schools because spots were taken by low-scoring rich kids. And when you read this book, is it any wonder why our capitalist system isn't working? We perpetuate the cycle of rich, legacy kids going to the top schools and then getting government positions. The whole system needs to be overhauled, and Golden offers some great suggestions.

Wow! So interesting

I listened to this book after SCOTUS struck down affirmative action and as an internationally educated person I was so naive and completely wrong about what I thought about Ivy League schools. This book kept me interested the whole way through.

Good for a view of how the admissions process favors others, but not a critically-thinking piece

I would say that this does a good job at name dropping famous folks or business folks on here as case examples of how the are favored in the admissions process. It’s fun to hear names of people you know who performed mediocrely in HS but went on to prestigious universities. It’s also great to hear from some admission directors on how they saw the admissions process as unfair, especially working within a system that is designed to favor them. I also found the writing to be very easy to follow, and the voice was good as well!

However, this book does fall into a trap of “America is a meritocracy” and doesn’t do enough to even begin to explore the value behind diversity, as she is coming from a perspective where diversity & meritocracy cannot go hand-in-hand. It would’ve been great to see some debate around that subject more thoroughly examined in the book. It also doesn’t do enough to explore the failures of the admissions process for those who are well aware of the process.

I would recommend to those who are interested in learning more about the admissions process if they are new, but I wouldn’t recommend it to those who are in the process or who are well aware of the process. You can find these points easily through Google.