An account of the overlapping effects of social class, ethnicity and gender in the process of choosing which university to attend. The shift from an elite to a mass system has been accompanied by much political rhetoric about widening access, achievement-for-all and meritocratic equalisation.

2011 Educator's Award. Delta Kappa Gamma Society International2011 Outstanding Publication in Postsecondary Education, American Educational Research Association, Division J Degrees of Inequality reveals the powerful patterns of social inequality in American higher education by analyzing how the social background of students shapes nearly every facet of the college experience. Even as the most prestigious institutions claim to open their doors to students from diverse backgrounds, class disparities remain. Just two miles apart stand two institutions that represent the stark class contrast in American higher education. Yale, an elite Ivy League university, boasts accomplished alumni, including national and world leaders in business and politics. Southern Connecticut State University graduates mostly commuter students seeking credential degrees in fields with good job prospects. Ann L. Mullen interviewed students from both universities and found that their college choices and experiences were strongly linked to social background and gender. Yale students, most having generations of family members with college degrees, are encouraged to approach their college years as an opportunity for intellectual and personal enrichment. Southern students, however, perceive a college degree as a path to a better career, and many work full- or part-time jobs to help fund their education. Moving interviews with 100 students at the two institutions highlight how American higher education reinforces the same inequities it has been aiming to transcend.

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Take a piece of ice, warm it from zero degrees to one degree. Do you see any difference? Now keep warming it by one degree. You don't see a difference until you hit 32 degrees. That is the beauty of phase transition. There is a certain threshold you must meet in order to change. I believe the same philosophy applies to college admissions. You get one chance to melt the ice. Most admissions advice books will tell you that there is no secret formula or magic recipe to get you in to the college of your choice. They are wrong. Those books will tell you to work hard on the SATs and become captain/president/manager of every club and sport you can. They will have you throw everything you have at the admissions committee hoping something will stick. That's sloppy and ineffective. In "Just One Degree", I will take you through the process of knowing what will show the admissions committees your true potential. We will work together to put together an irresistible application that is perfect for you. We will make sure we melt the ice with that one extra degree.-14 chapters of advice on how to make the most of high school-Comprehensive Glossary of Terms-Timeline for all four years of high school-Worksheets for use throughout high school-Section by Section analysis of Common Application-Breakdown of common essay questions-FAQs from around the web-Harvard Special Notes