How can universities allow more students from diverse backgrounds to gain access to what continues to be the surest way of attaining economic success? How do different ethnic groups fare in college -- and what does it mean that some groups attain 'hypermobility' while others seem to lag behind? What are the real, verifiable factors determining college success, and what are the social psychological perceptions that color the admissions debate? How can we tell myths apart from actual research in this area, where political tempers run high and young people's shot at the American Dream seems to hang in the balance? 

Van C. Tran is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. He is a sociologist whose research and writing broadly focus on the incorporation of Asian and Latino immigrants and their children, as well as its implications for American culture, politics, and society.