Barry Shein 29 December 2019 · I think there's some truth to what he says, it gibes with some of my personal experiences as an undergrad. Others have expressed this as: Would you be better off being average at some college where pretty much everyone is brilliant, or the smartest student at a college where everyone is not quite so brilliant? But it's an oversimplification, top colleges offer other advantages such as their top-rate facilities, professors, students you will meet and bond with, etc. And though he mentions it in passing I wouldn't discount the name-dropping value. So though thought-provoking it's one-dimensional (video is 8 mins 41 secs.) Particularly in his emphasis on STEM which might be a societal good but how many really choose their college based on which will maximize societal good? Put another way he's too dismissive of non-STEM degrees. Malcolm Gladwell explains why you'd be better off going to a worse school (and why you should hire people at the top of their class, regardless of the pedigr... YOUTUBE.COM Why You Shouldn't Go to Harvard | Malcolm Gladwell Highlights | Google Zeitgeist Malcolm Gladwell explains why you'd be better off going to a worse school (and why you should hire people at the top of their class, regardless of the pedigr... Malcolm Gladwell explains why you'd be better off going to a worse school (and why you should hire people at the top of their class, regardless of the pedigr... 44 44 comments Like Comment Share Comments Phill Hallam-Baker Phill Hallam-Baker If you go to Harvard, 1/3rd of the students will be there on the affirmative action program for rich kids aka legacies. So you will find it easier to be average than at MIT. Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Barry Shein Barry Shein replied · 14 replies Jon Krueger Jon Krueger The deeper dive, summarized: go where they improve you the most ("efficacy"): https://www.newyorker.com/.../02/14/the-order-of-things... Hide or report this The Trouble with College Rankings NEWYORKER.COM The Trouble with College Rankings The Trouble with College Rankings Like · Reply · 41w Barry Shein Barry Shein That's Gladwell again tho in 2011. It's amusing that a survey of lawyers ranked Penn State's law school rather high despite the fact that at the time of the survey Penn State did not have a law school. But yes it depends on a lot of factors which will be of varying importance to different individuals. Off-hand I'd say if one wants to go to law school and have an interesting and likely well-paying legal career (as opposed to the many who get their law degree but never practice law nor intended to) then pick a decent law school in Manhattan if the culture at all appeals to one, or perhaps Boston, Washington, DC, etc. If you even half-try you'll meet people at major law firms and places like Goldman-Sachs etc who can probably help you get started as opposed to going to law school in some lovely bucolic place like Cornell where, unless you want to be a legal academic, you'll mostly meet other students who tend to be relatively wealthy and, unless you're like them, will mostly take little interest in you professionally. But you'll likely get a first-rate legal education and the name will probably open some doors when you start sending out your resume. etc etc etc. Doubly-so if you happen to want to go into the arts as an undergrad, for example. I suppose the short summary is it depends on one's goals. Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Jon Krueger Jon Krueger Insights that are still true ten years later have added value Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Clara Sexton Write a reply... Philip Greenspun Philip Greenspun https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Gladwell says he studied History. He suggests STEM degrees for other people. Hide or report this Malcolm Gladwell - Wikipedia EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG Malcolm Gladwell - Wikipedia Malcolm Gladwell - Wikipedia Like · Reply · 41w Philip Greenspun Philip Greenspun He neglects to mention the main reason to avoid Harvard and other research universities: teaching and talking to undergraduates is not part of the professors’ job. Every minute that a Harvard professor talks to an undergrad is harming her/zir/their/his career. Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Lindsay Marshall Lindsay Marshall replied · 15 replies Suzanne Goode Suzanne Goode He also omits 12/2007 financial aid initiative, which means Harvard (and Princeton followed suit) is less expensive for upper middle class families than in-state tuition at UVA or almost any state school. So thanks to Sen Grassley, Harvard is a no brainer for any admitted student eligible for needs-based financial aid. Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w · Edited Philip Greenspun Philip Greenspun I guess it depends on the goal of the four years. From a purely economic point of view, investing four years at Harvard is not the obvious best choice: https://www.wsj.com/.../SB1000142405274870413220457628547... Hide or report this California Prison Academy: Better Than a Harvard Degree WSJ.COM California Prison Academy: Better Than a Harvard Degree California Prison Academy: Better Than a Harvard Degree Like · Reply · 41w Suzanne Goode Suzanne Goode Grassley's goal was for their then $27B endowment to be put to use lest Harvard lose its tax status as non-profit. Now over $30B, still exceeds GDP of several nations! Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Barry Shein Barry Shein The chance of Harvard losing their tax free status is probably about as likely as all those threats to remove major churches' tax-free status. Sometimes fun to talk about but I doubt it's raising any beads of sweat in Cambridge.…See more Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Suzanne Goode Suzanne Goode Charles Grassley pressured them, but you're right that Harvard likely wasn't intimidated, or worried about losing its tax free status: https://www.grassley.senate.gov/.../grassley-comments... Hide or report this Grassley comments on Harvard announcement on tuition assistance | Chuck Grassley GRASSLEY.SENATE.GOV Grassley comments on Harvard announcement on tuition… Grassley comments on Harvard announcement on tuition assistance | Chuck Grassley Like · Reply · 41w Barry Shein Barry Shein If that's the only leverage he can think of then I'd say he knows he lost but hey it sounds good. Why not threaten for example some big site grants (pretty much free federal money to, um, fix up your undergrad chem labs or whatever.) I guess because he had no influence over those either. He probably shut up when he found out the Harvard Corporation owned the mortgage to his and everyone in his family's house :-) Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Clara Sexton Write a reply... Barry Shein Barry Shein I remember half-jokingly (maybe not even quite half) to a young man who had been accepted to Harvard as an undergrad and was deciding between choices but seemed pretty certain he was going to Harvard that he should go to some place like Univ of Miami, sit by the pool for four years taking in the view, get easy stand-out straight-As, and then go to a 2 or 3 year big name grad program (like Harvard Law or MBA which seemed to be his ultimate goal.) Youth is truly wasted on the young. 1 Hide or report this Like · Reply · 41w Richard Sexton Richard Sexton Remember Freeman Dyson's story about his daughter? He kept going to school to see her and she was never in class, always hanging out in the cafeteria. After the fourth or fifth time this happened he questioned her: "Estie, why is it you're never in class?" to which she replied "Oh Daddy, harvard isn't about going to class, it's about meeting people." When Lessig was going on about a presidential campaign to wipe out corruption I asked Mueller if this corruption obsession was from seeing ICANN forming at Harvard and he said probably not and that it was almost certainly from seeing corruption at Harvard. I'll certainly never forget my days at Harvard. Both of them.