Aspiring to Elitism: How the Admissions Office Remade the Corporate University

Monday, April 13, 2026, 5:30–7:00pm

Swift Lecture Hall
1025 E. 58th St., Third Floor
[map]

While early decision admissions have been around since the 1950s, the proportion of students admitted to highly selective, primarily private colleges through these programs has skyrocketed in recent years. Here at the University of Chicago, there are now no fewer than four opportunities for prospective students to apply before the regular decision round. For families, early decision presents significantly better odds that their child will receive an offer of admission; for schools, these programs raise yield rates and lock in desirable applicants.

As its usage grows, early decision is also increasingly a target of criticism. Research has consistently shown that early decision applicants skew white and affluent, with those who are unable or unwilling to risk binding commitments placed at a disadvantage. As former Department of Education official Daniel Currell argues, “Early decision forces 17- and 18-year-olds to make life-altering decisions without comparing options. It scares off middle- and lower-income households, allowing colleges to pad their budgets with full-pay students while still claiming to be need-blind. And it reinforces a cynical, transactional approach to higher education that cheapens both students and institutions.” In short, dependence on early decision policies risks narrowing the student body by emphasizing aspirations to elitism over a broader and deeper pursuit of intellectual curiosity.

Please join us for a conversation with journalist Ron Lieber and scholars Dominique J. Baker and Lauren A. Rivera as they discuss recent developments in admissions practices and how they impact campus communities. 3CT fellow Jennifer Pitts will moderate.

Dominique J. Baker is an Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy with a joint appointment in the College of Education & Human Development and the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on the way that education policy affects and shapes the access and success of minoritized students in higher education. In recognition of the impact of her scholarly career, she was selected as the 2023 American Educational Research Association Early Career Award winner. Dr. Baker has testified before the United States Senate on student loans and her work and expertise have been highlighted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR, among others. She is a columnist at Inside Higher Ed.

Ron Lieber has been the “Your Money” columnist for The New York Times since 2008, writing about everything from retirement savings and college tuition to credit reports and taxes. He is the author of The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Roadmap for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make (HarperCollins, 2021) and The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money (HarperCollins, 2015).

Lauren A. Rivera is the Peter G. Peterson Chair of Corporate Ethics at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Her research investigates how the way people define and evaluate merit in organizations shapes social inequalities. Her best-selling book Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs (Princeton University Press) investigates on-campus recruitment and hiring for elite professional service firms. Dr. Rivera’s research has been featured in the Atlantic, Economist, Financial Times, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and NPR.

This event is free and open to the public, and registration is recommended. Please email us at ccct@uchicago.edu if you require any accommodations to enable your full participation.