The book expands upon a series of articles Steinberg wrote in The New York Times.

[1] The book covers issues such as affirmative action, recruiting, standardized testing and the significance of the SATs.

She argued that in contrast to Wesleyan's admissions practices, many colleges emphasize a numbers approach in evaluating a candidate.

[1] Shannon Bloomstran of The Book Reporter, said it was a "fascinating peek behind the curtain" and said that before reading she "really had no idea of the extent of agony and debate that takes place in the admissions offices of these highly selective schools.

[5] John Bundris of the Christian Science Monitor described The Gatekeepers as a "fitting denouement after the college applications are in the mail - for parent and student alike".