Giving Notice: Why the Best and the Brightest Leave the Workplace and How You Can Help Them Stay

9.3. Dismantling Educational Barriers

Considering the dramatic lives of many economically disadvantaged but highly gifted youth, it is little wonder (though a long time coming) that the actual role of race and class in the college admission process is drawing greater attention at the nation's top schools. As a result, the decades-old practice of early admission is under increased scrutiny and, in many cases, intense criticism. According to data collected by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), 16 percent of U.S. four-year colleges and universities offer the option of "early decision" or "early action" to students (Hawkins and Lautz 2005).

This practice of students committing to a top college early in the admission ...