Student demand for the school is determined by the median teaching quality at the school.
That’s just one of many things. For example, in USA many students seem to care about sport.
Another important thing is classmates. It is a wise investment to make the important people of the future your former classmates. And this is a game of self-fulfilling prophecies, with some schools acting as Schelling points.
If everyone believes the best students go to X, you also apply for X, and if many people follow this logic and the school chooses the best among those who applied, then it becomes true, and you might get a certificate of having studied at the school for the best. This mechanism is almost independent on quality of teaching. One might assume that the best students would prefer having the best teachers, ceteris paribus, but given the choice between having a diploma from school A known for having great teachers and mediocre students, or school B known for having mediocre teachers but best students, it is not obvious you should choose A. -- Plus, there is a lot of halo effect; people will automatically assume that a high-status school has better teachers; you can change the impression by advertising, etc.
I should have said “partially determined.” I’m sure we can agree that perceived teaching quality is an important factor in why students choose one school over another.
Yes. I just think that the perception of teaching quality is… prone to all kinds of biases. Unless you actually studied at both schools, so you can compare both using your own experience.
So the money the school could spend on hiring better teachers might be better spent on advertising. I am not suggesting hiring bad teachers, rather the same ones as your competitors, and if you have extra money left, spend it elsewhere.
That’s just one of many things. For example, in USA many students seem to care about sport.
Another important thing is classmates. It is a wise investment to make the important people of the future your former classmates. And this is a game of self-fulfilling prophecies, with some schools acting as Schelling points.
If everyone believes the best students go to X, you also apply for X, and if many people follow this logic and the school chooses the best among those who applied, then it becomes true, and you might get a certificate of having studied at the school for the best. This mechanism is almost independent on quality of teaching. One might assume that the best students would prefer having the best teachers, ceteris paribus, but given the choice between having a diploma from school A known for having great teachers and mediocre students, or school B known for having mediocre teachers but best students, it is not obvious you should choose A. -- Plus, there is a lot of halo effect; people will automatically assume that a high-status school has better teachers; you can change the impression by advertising, etc.
I should have said “partially determined.” I’m sure we can agree that perceived teaching quality is an important factor in why students choose one school over another.
Yes. I just think that the perception of teaching quality is… prone to all kinds of biases. Unless you actually studied at both schools, so you can compare both using your own experience.
So the money the school could spend on hiring better teachers might be better spent on advertising. I am not suggesting hiring bad teachers, rather the same ones as your competitors, and if you have extra money left, spend it elsewhere.