Plain English with Derek Thompson

Why Elite College Admissions Are Biased Toward the Superrich

Aug 1, 2023

David Deming, a Harvard economist and co-author of a crucial study on elite college admissions, dives into the biases favoring wealthy students in the college selection process. He reveals that affluent applicants with similar SAT scores are significantly more likely to gain admission than their less wealthy peers. The discussion critiques systemic advantages such as legacy status and access to resources. Deming also addresses how these disparities impact career opportunities and calls for a more equitable admissions framework to foster true meritocracy.

50:15

Episode guests

David Deming

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Study Reveals Inequality in College Admissions at Elite Schools

02:04

The Overrepresentation of Athletes Among the Wealthy

01:39

The Impact of Lottery Tickets on Power and Status in Society

01:01

Intro

2min

Inequities in Elite College Admissions

20min

Unequal Opportunities in Elite Admissions

11min

Impacts of Elite College Admissions on Career Opportunities

5min

Biases in Elite College Admissions

9min

Exploring Hybrid Education and Its Implications for Elite Institutions

3min

Less than 1 percent of college students attend Ivy League colleges and equally selective schools, like Stanford and Duke. But these schools have an outsize influence on American life. Practically every Supreme Court justice of the last 40 years, 25 percent of the U.S. Senate, and one in eight Fortune 500 CEOs went to these schools. A new study on their admissions programs finds that they are heavily biased toward children from rich families. For applicants with the same SAT score, kids from families in the top 0.1 percent were more than twice as likely to get in compared to the average student. A coauthor on that paper, Harvard economist David Deming, talks to Derek about what his landmark study tells us about college, fairness, and the American Dream.

If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: David Deming

Producer: Devon Manze

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