Malcolm Gladwell, College Admissions, and the Elite College Mystique

Roger_Dooley · 02-06-2006, 01:27 PM

Oddly, considering our diverse and well-read membership, when Malcom Gladwell's New Yorker article on college admissions came out last fall, it got very little play here.

I think it is quite an interesting read - he extracts material from a variety of sources familiar to CC members, but compiles it into a lengthy and interesting essay. He concludes, in part,

Quote:

The endless battle over admissions in the United States proceeds on the assumption that some great moral principle is at stake in the matter of whom schools like Harvard choose to let in—that those who are denied admission by the whims of the admissions office have somehow been harmed. If you are sick and a hospital shuts its doors to you, you are harmed. But a selective school is not a hospital, and those it turns away are not sick. Élite schools, like any luxury brand, are an aesthetic experience—an exquisitely constructed fantasy of what it means to belong to an élite —and they have always been mindful of what must be done to maintain that experience.

I think the key issues he raises are that elite admissions will always be driven by the whims (if that sounds too fanciful and arbitrary, then substitute "the needs and preferences") of the schools themselves, and also (once again) that just about all of the salary difference between elite grads and non-elite grads is explainable by the individual, not the school the individual attended.

dstark · 02-06-2006, 01:46 PM

A great article. Nothing is going to change.

dufus3709 · 02-06-2006, 07:28 PM

An interesting article on how Harvard has changed its admission policies over the years as society has changed. The leaders at Harvard have tried to do what they thought best at the time for the institution and for society at large. It is important not to judge history by the norms of modern society. God knows what they will be saying about 20th century affirmative action in one or two hundred years from now. Historians try to understand why people did what they did and not pass judgements using current morality. It is interesting how an attempt to limit Jews in the early part of the century to 15% of the student body relates to asians today. It is extremely interesting to see how non-academic factors (EC's?) were first made an important part of the admissions process in order to favor affluent whites, but have evolved to what they are today. I will get a copy of "The Chosen". Thanks.

treewannabe · 02-06-2006, 09:12 PM

I think this post is short on responses because most high-achieving kids (CC-ers), myself included, would rather keep believing "the fantasy" is a reality and that elite acceptance will make you invincible or at least a better person

Papa Chicken · 02-06-2006, 10:21 PM

likewise, great article.....it was up on a CC site or 2 when it came out.

Anoel · 02-07-2006, 12:01 PM

Very interesting article. It really helped me understand why the ivy leagues and other colleges operate the way they do. The last line was pretty harsh-looks like image is still huge. I think change will come gradually as society changes but until then, this the way it is.