What makes a top-ranked institution better than a "second-tier" school? The kind of applicant who would do well in the former will certainly do well in the latter.
Text Your Way to College
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Re: Text Your Way to College
#12I realise in a sense this is not a particularly nice thought, but: > Colleges and universities need to join forces to encourage poor, high-achieving students to attend top-flight schools and nudge accepted students to enroll. Doing the right thing for students has never been so cheap. Do they? Competition is so high, however cheap it is, I can't see any upside for the university other than image. And that image is un…
I think the argument goes something like: the well-off will do well no matter what, but if only knowledge is standing in the way of helping the poor achieve their full potential, it is a goal worth pursuing for the benefit of society.
Re: Text Your Way to College
#13For most people, going to elite schools is a waste of money. For example, a high achieving student from a lower middle class family who goes to Harvard still pays the equivalent of full tuition and fees at an average state school, while they can often get a full ride at a state school. Obviously there are a lot of ways an elite education can help you, but most people don't want to be a lawyer or go into business.
It's implied in the article that the opposite is true. Certain elite schools cover tuition, room and board, and occasionally supplies for low-income students through merit-based scholarships [1] even for out-of-state students, while many state schools can only afford to grant fewer full-rides, and usually only covering the in-state price -- with out-of-state being significantly more expensive. This doesn't mean that…
You are not necessarily in disagreement with IslaDeEncanta, as they said "lower middle class", not "low-income". What exactly constitutes "middle class", and even "lower middle class" is not clear. But, I think, most would agree "low income" means not middle class, so you're probably talking about different sets of people.
Re: Text Your Way to College
#14What makes a top-ranked institution better than a "second-tier" school? The kind of applicant who would do well in the former will certainly do well in the latter.
The top ranked institution ends up costing the student significantly less money, and the name also carries some weight.
Re: Text Your Way to College
#15What makes a top-ranked institution better than a "second-tier" school? The kind of applicant who would do well in the former will certainly do well in the latter.
I agree, but you would graduate with a better network, better branding, and possibly better skills from the top tier school, all of which have very real impact on the job market.
Re: Text Your Way to College
#16What makes a top-ranked institution better than a "second-tier" school? The kind of applicant who would do well in the former will certainly do well in the latter.
Even if they will do as well in either and achieve the same learning outcomes, having a top-ranked school on your resume has value as a signal. And the alumni network has value as well.
Re: Text Your Way to College
#17What makes a top-ranked institution better than a "second-tier" school? The kind of applicant who would do well in the former will certainly do well in the latter.
The top-ranked institutions and "second-tier" schools charge about the same tuition but often have more generous financial aid so it can be cheaper to attend. Even if the sticker price would be the same for you, value of your degree is partially based on the reputation of the school so the top-ranked institution's degree is worth more.
Re: Text Your Way to College
#18I realise in a sense this is not a particularly nice thought, but: > Colleges and universities need to join forces to encourage poor, high-achieving students to attend top-flight schools and nudge accepted students to enroll. Doing the right thing for students has never been so cheap. Do they? Competition is so high, however cheap it is, I can't see any upside for the university other than image. And that image is un…
Good students from poor backgrounds have a better grasp of many social problems than people without experience of them, and are thus in a position to make a significantly greater economic contribution, to the benefit of all including the university. The university is an organ of society, not an end in itself.
Have you seen any disembodied brains running things? No, the brain only exists within the whole body and the health of the body is tightly correlated with the health of the brain. The social body is a holographic reflection of the individual body.
Re: Text Your Way to College
#19For most people, going to elite schools is a waste of money. For example, a high achieving student from a lower middle class family who goes to Harvard still pays the equivalent of full tuition and fees at an average state school, while they can often get a full ride at a state school. Obviously there are a lot of ways an elite education can help you, but most people don't want to be a lawyer or go into business.
Harvard isn't a good example, they offer tremendous financial aid. If your household income is less than $65,000 (which could count as lower middle class), you pay nothing. By their figures 90% of households in America would pay less for Harvard than for a state school. [0]
There are many private colleges with a higher "sticker price" than Harvard but with a much lower discount rate (i.e. what the average student pays is much closer to that sticker price).
[0] https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/cost...
Re: Text Your Way to College
#20On one hand, I hear breathless reassurances from people like Frank Bruni (also at the Times) that "school doesn't matter" and "college is what you make it". At the same time, we get articles like these.
Now, as someone pursuing CS at a second or maybe even third tier institution - which is it?