<p>I haven’t really been following this thread, but don’t think that means I don’t support ID. This is a Swarthmore forum. In my opinion, it generally exists to support Swarthmore, and it shouldn’t be any surprise that people here are significantly more pro-Swarthmore than elsewhere. This is reflected in the legion of statistics ID regularly pulls up. And these numbers are relevant and they are important.</p>
<p>It is easy enough to say there is no real difference between schools, or that every school offers essentially the same education. Great. The thing is, people are applying to these schools want to know what <em>is</em> different. Whether or not there <em>should</em> be, there <em>is</em> a hierarchy in higher education, with some schools more prestigious than others.</p>
<p>I don’t think ID’s statistics or arguments are self-serving or even skewed. If you want to find alternative numbers that suggest other schools produce more PhDs, do so. If you want to argue the difference is irrelevant, do so. As far as I know, however, his numbers stand largely unchallenged—it seems fact that in many fields Swarthmore produces more PhDs than other institutions, and it isn’t wrong of ID to point that out.</p>
<p>It is not inaccurate to say CMC kids have no arts majors. It is not ID’s job or role to research every single school and represent every single side of the debate. This is a Swarthmore forum, and he is in this forum to post advice about <em>Swarthmore</em>, not the intricacies of other schools.</p>
<p>This post is rambling and probably not all that on topic. But your final sentence was rather annoying.</p>