Pragmatist about to join the elite (7)
I believe the answer is:
realist
'pragmatist' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'about to join the elite' is the wordplay.
'about' becomes 're' (regarding**).
'to join' says to put letters next to each other.
'the elite' becomes 'alist'.
're'+'alist'='REALIST'
(Other definitions for realist that I've seen before include "One without illusions" , "Pragmatic type" , "Writer like Balzac" , "Retails like practical person" , "Non-dreamer?" .)