It’s a stretch of the vocabulary, but Harvard and other elite institutions are a Schelling Point. Those with status send their kids there, because other people with status do so. Therefore, even if it were proven that the Harvatd education was equivalent to an average California State College, the nexus of networking opportunity would still give it significantly enhanced value.
Yup. When I was applying for grad schools, my advisor told me that 1. The main factor in what makes a school good is the quality of the grad students there; you learn the most from late-night conversations with your peers, and 2. The more prestigious, higher-ranked grad programs are where the best grad students will be, probably.
I don’t think so, actually. The average age for entering Harvard, as an undergraduate is 18 years old. I don’t think there’s any faster way of meeting people who are likely to be influential. Even if you do something high-variance like starting a company, is that going to get you meeting the same sorts of people right away that getting into Harvard will? Probably not.
It’s a stretch of the vocabulary, but Harvard and other elite institutions are a Schelling Point. Those with status send their kids there, because other people with status do so. Therefore, even if it were proven that the Harvatd education was equivalent to an average California State College, the nexus of networking opportunity would still give it significantly enhanced value.
Yup. When I was applying for grad schools, my advisor told me that 1. The main factor in what makes a school good is the quality of the grad students there; you learn the most from late-night conversations with your peers, and 2. The more prestigious, higher-ranked grad programs are where the best grad students will be, probably.
Maybe. But I’m a bit skeptical. I have the impression there are more time-efficient ways to meet high-status people.
I don’t think so, actually. The average age for entering Harvard, as an undergraduate is 18 years old. I don’t think there’s any faster way of meeting people who are likely to be influential. Even if you do something high-variance like starting a company, is that going to get you meeting the same sorts of people right away that getting into Harvard will? Probably not.