The Inequality of Holistic Graduate Enrollment Management

In this article, the author analyzed relevant literature focused on the evaluation and holistic admission practices of American graduate programs, including application materials, academic achievement, and non-cognitive variables. This article mainly focuses on the higher education graduate school admission system within the United States after World War I. The social conditions for holistic admissions, specifically those of graduate schools and programs, stem from elitist gatekeeping practices that minimize or reduce certain populations of prospective students. Holistic admissions practices contribute to the inequity of applicants admitted into U.S. graduate schools through their systemic and structural policies, furthering an elitist mindset. This topic is significant because it affects the decisions made by colleges and universities on submissions for admission, and can be impacted by levels of bias held by individual admissions officers or full departments.