<p>In Atlantic Monthly’s November 2005 issue, Richard H. Hersh, former president of Trinity College and author of “Declining by Degrees” points to research showing “that simply going to college, any college, makes a major difference in a young person’s psychological development: students come away with improved cognitive skills, greater verbal and quantitative competence, and different political, social, and religious attitudes and values. But although the researchers found wide variations in learning within each college or university, they were unable to uncover significant differences between colleges once the quality of the entering students was taken into account.”
For more information, read Hersh’s article at: <a href=“http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/measuring-college-quality[/url]”>http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/measuring-college-quality</a>.</p>
<p>Student quality is not the only determinant of educational quality. But, student quality is strongly correlated with other determinants of quality. So, when they say in the article that colleges are the same after you take student quality into account, what they are really saying is that colleges are the same when you statistically control for the important differences between them, which is a stupid thing to say. The authors of the statement did noy understand their statistics well enough to properly interpret them.</p>
<p>Colleges evolve over time. Better faculty, better educational practices, better environment…these things attract better students. Better students attract better faculty and permit better educational practices. So, when they say they account for differences in student quality they are actually masking the real differences in educational quality.</p>
<p>There is a huge difference in the experience between a top tier school and a lower tier school. The factors that contribute to the difference are inextricably intertwined and mutually depend on each other.</p>
<p>What makes more selective colleges better?
talent of fellow students
fellow students are academically motivated
talent of faculty
quality of instruction
level of instruction that challenges excellent students
faculty-student mutual respect and interest
professional maturity and accomplishments of faculty
personal maturity of faculty
resources and facilities
academic climate
mentoring/role models
maturity and dedication of fellow students
originality and sophistication of ideas that are presented/discussed
opportunities for research and academic/professional experience
advantages seekeng jobs and grad schools later
professional contacts of faculty
quality of academic advising
special culture, tradition, history
imparts a sense of pride and accomplishment
prestige factor
environment that imparts desire for excellence
social consciousness/moral awareness/cultural growth
fun and pleasures that are not malicious or self destructive</p>
<p>I agree with collegehelp. Colleges that attract the best students do so with talented professors, low student-faculty ratios, extensive resources, etc., all of which lead to a better educational experience. By controlling for student quality, you also control for many other important factors.</p>
<p>The only problem with this is it totally ignores the elite publics that, for the most part, have better resources, programs, and faculty than a lot of the more selective privates ranked above them. The only thing they really lack is a low student/faculty ratio. Even with all these advantages, many students will still choose the “inferior” in quality, but more selective private because, well, they’re more selective. So a lot of students base decisions on this and then fall prey to the fallacy that selectivity = better, when academic rankings show this is clearly not the case. There are many schools in the overall USNWR top 25-35 that do not compare in faculty, resources, etc. to public schools ranked below them.</p>