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carolyn · 11-26-2006, 09:29 PM

I hate to say it, but I also see some value in VM's line of thought. Not because I believe that there are only 20 schools worth going to, but because I do agree with him that some people are paying inflated prices based on false assumptions about what constitutes educational quality. It seems that some people have decided that the only measures of educational quality that matter are (1) how many applicants the school rejects (2) how well-known the school's name is and (3) how many graduates get jobs on wall street or become Rhodes Scholars or learn to yodel, even if you have any such plans yourself. I think part of this lies in the college marketing machine that tells us all that a particular subset of characteristics are the only educational factors that matter. Like a lot of marketing, you try to get the prospective customer so focused on the intangible benefits that they ignore the differences that really don't exist.

In truth, as Asteriska points out, the educational value derived from any institution is much more individualized. An institution that serves student A well may be a total waste of money for student B. Different students have different strengths/weaknesses/needs/expectations, and the key to determining any particular institution's value is how well those match up with the services offered by the institution. There's also a matter of inputs vs. outputs: Does the student come out better educated/talented/prepared than they went in? Ultimately, I guess that is where one has to make the value judgment about whether any student is paying too much or too little for their education.

So, yes, I agree with VM on some level: Some families are definitely paying way too much because they're looking at the wrong measures of educational value, not the ones that matter on an individual basis. However, statements such as there only being a certain number of colleges/universities "worth" the money...well, again, it comes back to how well a particular school meets an individual student's educational needs, and the individual's valuation on that exchange.

11-26-2006, 09:29 PM	#71
carolyn Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Threads: 168 Posts: 6,677	I hate to say it, but I also see some value in VM's line of thought. Not because I believe that there are only 20 schools worth going to, but because I do agree with him that some people are paying inflated prices based on false assumptions about what constitutes educational quality. It seems that some people have decided that the only measures of educational quality that matter are (1) how many applicants the school rejects (2) how well-known the school's name is and (3) how many graduates get jobs on wall street or become Rhodes Scholars or learn to yodel, even if you have any such plans yourself. I think part of this lies in the college marketing machine that tells us all that a particular subset of characteristics are the only educational factors that matter. Like a lot of marketing, you try to get the prospective customer so focused on the intangible benefits that they ignore the differences that really don't exist. In truth, as Asteriska points out, the educational value derived from any institution is much more individualized. An institution that serves student A well may be a total waste of money for student B. Different students have different strengths/weaknesses/needs/expectations, and the key to determining any particular institution's value is how well those match up with the services offered by the institution. There's also a matter of inputs vs. outputs: Does the student come out better educated/talented/prepared than they went in? Ultimately, I guess that is where one has to make the value judgment about whether any student is paying too much or too little for their education. So, yes, I agree with VM on some level: Some families are definitely paying way too much because they're looking at the wrong measures of educational value, not the ones that matter on an individual basis. However, statements such as there only being a certain number of colleges/universities "worth" the money...well, again, it comes back to how well a particular school meets an individual student's educational needs, and the individual's valuation on that exchange.