How to Survive the College Admissions Madness – NYTimes.com.
Here is my take.
I taught math at one of those “elite” schools. (Wash. Univ. in St Louis) and my advice (in many cases) is not to “relax” if you didn’t get into some of them, but CELEBRATE.
Celebrate because many schools are “elite” only in that they are experts in the rankings game. You don’t move up in the rankings by educating. You move up because, as David Riesman observed in 1980,
“…advantage can still be taken of [students] by unscrupulous instructors and institutions…the student estate often does not grasp its own interests, and those who speak in its name are not always its friends.”
Advantage can be taken of students by catering to their “wants” to the detriment of their needs.
I warn students and parents not to take it for granted that a “elite school” will deliver an “elite education”.
To learn about how many of them became “elite”, I highly recommend the first few chapters of Kevin Carey’s new book. “The End of College”. (He mentions some places to be wary of by name – including Wash. U. in St. Louis)
For anyone who thinks, “Oh, it can’t be that bad.”, read my documented story that shows that it is much worse than you think, “A Tale Out of School”. Its on my blog inside-higher-ed .
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