The Public Interest

The Best and the Brightest

Malcolm J. Sherman

Spring 1986

HOW DO, and how should, elite institutions such as Harvard University choose from among a large pool of highly capable applicants? What issues arise in selecting from among the “best and brightest” for highly sought positions within universities, businesses, and governments? What light is shed on familiar controversies concerning racial preference and aptitude testing by the experiences and practices of elite institutions? Choosing Elites is a careful examination of these questions.

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