Rate My Professor Joseph Soares

Soares' research addresses education inequality, privilege at elite colleges, and college admissions, particularly the role of standardized tests. His key books include The Decline of Privilege: the Modernization of Oxford University (Stanford University Press, 1999), which won the Prize for Outstanding Book of 2000 from the Culture Section of the American Sociological Association; The Power of Privilege: Yale and America’s Elite Colleges (Stanford University Press, 2007); and SAT Wars: The Case for Test-Optional College Admissions (Teachers College Press, 2011), which he edited. Notable peer-reviewed articles are “Who Goes to Graduate School? Social and Academic Determinants of Matriculation in Master’s, First-Professional, and Ph.D. Programs” with Ann Mullen and Kim Goyette (Sociology of Education, 2003); “The Effects of Racial Self-Identity on College GPA and Student Satisfaction at Very Selective Colleges and Universities” with Meagan Robichaud (International Journal of Educational Studies, 2014); and “Excellence, equity, and diversity: An exploration of the admission goals at selective colleges and universities in the United States” with Yuan Wan (Journal of China University of Geosciences (Social Science Edition), 2017). He has published invited essays such as “Don't Tinker. Toss the SAT” (Inside Higher Ed, 2013) and “#FAIL: The SAT rebrand” (Al Jazeera, 2014). Honors include Harvard’s De Lancey K. Jay Prize for his dissertation (1991), Jacob Javits Fellowship (1987-1990), Krupp Fellowship (1987), Visiting Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford University (1989-1990), “Wall of Tolerance” recognition by Rosa Parks and the Southern Poverty Law Center (2001), and inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who in America (2005).