Poison ivy How elite colleges divide us

This book shines a light on the world of elite Ivy League universities in regard to their avowed support of education for all. The author, a Harvard graduate who now works at a public university, looks at the reality behind these statements of support. He does so by investigating the landscape of higher education through the widening gap between socioeconomic levels in American communities. The author identifies initial and ongoing detriments and barriers, such as less initial access to well-funded schools and lack of transportation to higher-paying jobs. He also offers potential solutions for change and bases his conclusions on his own experiences, data from higher education research studies, and personal interviews with students who have been both inside and outside the system of elite higher education. This book paints a stark picture of the disparate worlds of the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy in American higher education. It shows how the Ivy League universities not only reinforce this gap, but exacerbate it. It also exposes the mythmaking that elite universities engage in to justify the current form of higher education. VERDICT Recommended for all library collections on higher education.--Karen Bordonaro

A potent investigation into how elite colleges and universities in the U.S. perpetuate economic inequalities and fail to properly address the country's ongoing racial divide.None Many people believe that private, elite colleges reward merit and hard work, and while that may be true, there are countless other factors at play. Mandery--a Harvard graduate, Emmy and Peabody winner, and author of A Wild Justice: The Death and Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America, among other books--plainly shows how "elite colleges are guilty of cementing, reproducing, and exacerbating inequality in America." Ivy League colleges, and others of their ilk, open their doors mainly to those least in need. "For the overwhelming majority," the author notes, "they take children who have been the beneficiary of a lifetime of privilege, convert that privilege into a degree of value, steer these students into careers in finance, cultivate disdain for those who work for the common good, [and] systematically disadvantage the handful of poor students of color who manage to make it through their gates." On the other hand, public universities are "producing the lion's share of upward mobility" and encouraging public service careers. The trend of excluding talented, low-income students from elite colleges is exacerbated by standardized testing biases, tax exemptions for higher education, the hoarding of endowments, and admissions criteria privileging legacy students and accomplishments (science fair awards, volunteering, expensive extracurricular activities, etc.) that favor affluent applicants. Mandery offers a variety of strategies to counter this problem--e.g., basing admissions decisions on high school rank and increasing the sizes of entering classes. Of course, students attend college for reasons other than status: gaining access to specific occupations, transitioning to adulthood, or just the sheer joy of learning. Living a decent and satisfying life, as Mandery shows, hardly depends on a degree from Harvard or Princeton. A convincing indictment of elite colleges for reproducing inequality while hiding behind their historical clout. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.