Publishers Weekly
02/19/2024
Sociologist Osborne argues in her eye-opening debut study that programs at selective colleges meant to teach students from working-class backgrounds how to network, dress professionally, and otherwise acquire the social capital required to succeed in an elite environment, rather than helping students adjust to campus life, instead supercharge conflict with their families and friends back home. Drawing on interviews with 150 students at elite schools, Osborne describes harrowing scenes: while home on break, one student was accused of being a “fancy motherfucker” by his father, who claimed “the way he was wearing his hat, the ‘proper’ way he was talking, and the amount of gesturing he was doing with his hands” were signs of how college had changed him. Another student got into screaming matches with her mother, who called her a “stuck-up bitch,” before eventually breaking off contact. Such discord left many of the students feeling adrift (“I don’t really feel like I belong anywhere”) and at risk of forgetting “where they came from.” The extensive quotations are heartbreaking, allowing students to express in their own words the heavy toll that attending selective colleges exacts on their lives outside the classroom. It’s a searching inquiry into how elite colleges are failing their working-class students. (May)
C.J. Pascoe
Polished provides an essential road map for how colleges can change the lives of first-generation students. Drawing on the compelling narratives of college students who have undergone what she calls a ‘polishing’ process, Osborne calls on institutions of higher learning to enable and support the extensive and profound identity work experienced by upwardly mobile students. Polished is a must-read for those concerned with social mobility and the emotional, social, and economic well-being of first-generation college students.”
Mitchell Stevens
Meticulously researched and carefully argued. In Polished, Osborne deftly reveals the emotional and psychic complexity of educational social mobility in America. She also offers clear-eyed and tractable ways for schools and their personnel to assist students in navigating the positive life changes a college education can bring.
Library Journal
04/01/2024
The idea that a college education can be socioeconomically transformative has been proven over decades—so much so that most post-secondary institutions put significant resources into recruiting and supporting first-generation and lower-income students. Though these support systems seemingly cover every aspect of college life (particularly at selective private schools), students still experience challenges. Osborne (sociology, Western Washington Univ.) theorizes that these challenges may stem from the conflicts students face in navigating social mobility while maintaining who they are. With information gathered through in-depth interviews with 150 students from 18 institutions across the U.S., Osborne delves into the paradoxical nature of institutional support, illustrating how it provides invaluable resources and opportunities but can also catalyze profound shifts in students' personas, sometimes putting them at odds with their familial and cultural backgrounds. The book traces the evolution of student experiences and examines the initial hurdles they face, from acclimating to campus life to reconciling newfound privileges with familial ties and the complexities that arise from that. VERDICT A nuanced exploration of identity, culture, and the emotional impact of social mobility and college education. Will appeal to fans of Anthony Abraham Jack's The Privileged Poor and readers interested in post-secondary student success strategies.—Sara Holder
