The price of admission : how America's ruling class buys its way into elite colleges--and who gets left outside the gates / Daniel Golden.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : the Tennessee waltz -- How the "z-list" makes the a-list : Harvard's payback for big donors -- Recruiting the rich : development admits at Duke -- The fame factor : celebrity children at Brown -- Enduring legacies : Notre Dame's other tradition -- Title IX and the rise of the upper-class recruited athlete : fencing, crew, and polo scholarships -- A break for faculty brats : free and easy entry for the children of professors -- The new Jews : Asian Americans need not apply -- The legacy establishment : taking on Congress and the higher education lobby -- The challenge of wealth-blind admissions : how Caltech raises standards--and donations -- Ending the preferences of privilege : suggestions for reform.