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In a recent study, we investigated how many of the wealthiest and most influential people graduated college. We studied 11,745 U.S. leaders, including CEOs, federal judges, politicians, multi-millionaires and billionaires, business leaders and the most globally powerful men and women.
We found about 94 percent of these U.S. leaders attended college, and about 50 percent attended an elite school. Though almost everyone went to college, elite school attendance varied widely. For instance, only 20.6 percent of House members and 33.8 percent of 30-millionaires attended an elite school, but over 80 percent of Forbes' most powerful people did. For whatever reason, about twice as many senators – 41 percent – as House members went to elite schools.
For comparison, based on census and college data, we estimate that only about 2 to 5 percent of all U.S. undergraduates went to one of the elite schools in our study. The people from our study attended elite schools at rates well above typical expectations.
Why waste $150,000 on an education you could get for $1.50 in late fees at the public library?
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2017, @07:33AM (3 children)
Well not entirely, but a big benefit of going to elite schools is that you are surrounded disproportionately by other people who are equally ambitious, excited by learning, and with diverse accomplishments in their background.
When Bill Gates was starting Microsoft he didn't put an ad out seeking people to start a company with, he started it with an old friend Paul Allen. When he was hiring their first manager, he didn't put an ad in the classifieds - he hired a college buddy: Steve Ballmer. It's not nepotism. These guys are all extremely well qualified for doing what they do. And that's really the point. Elite schools concentrate talent into a very small area. When everybody is succeeding it becomes contagious. You're a lawyer looking for a change. Well your old college buddy is now a senator. You shoot him an email and you two get in contact. He knows you, know your competence. That give you an in which then gets you setup with access and glowing recommendations to the lower level organizing and fundraising necessary to get your name out. 'Hahah. You're the lawyer that ole bastard Bill told me about, right? I'll forgive you for that.' Next thing you know you're joining him in congress.
(Score: 2) by lx on Friday April 21 2017, @10:24AM (1 child)
It's not nepotism.
Oh but it is. It's insidious.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 21 2017, @11:05AM
Life is too short and irritating to waste gobs of resources taking a chance on someone I don't know.
There's nothing insidious about relying on social networks to get shit done—that's what allowed man to dominate the planet Earth.
Why do you think crap like LinkedIn exists? People instinctively turn to the one heuristic that works really well: The Social Network.
This is exactly why society must return to the apprenticeship model: Education cannot be separated from experience; education cannot be separated from productive work; education cannot be separated from one's social network. You must build not only your knowledge and your skills, but also your social network.
(Score: 2) by eravnrekaree on Friday April 21 2017, @08:03PM
Most of the people who go to elite schools are children of wealthy individuals. Elite schools are just a way to ensure that the children of the elite end up in positions of power. It has little or nothing to do with merit. It is nepotism because it keeps power in the hands of a few elite families. College really isnt about "education", basically, its a racket designed to extract money from you and to in the case of elite colleges, to ensure power stays in the hands of elite families. Everything you learn in college could be learnt more effecitively and for far less money on your own time using a library, and in a much more enjoyable manner since you are not so worried about rote memorization and regurgitation. Rote memorization and regurgitation is not education, its just mindless repitition. In addition, it causes learning to become such a drudgery it causes early burn out and a loss of creativity. Study and learn art, math, science and history on your own time and your own terms and I think for most people I think you will become far better informed, much more interested in it and find it for more enjoyable than college, with all of the tests, grades and rote memorization out of the equation. Rote memorization takes away critical thinking and understanding and really serves no purpose whatsoever except to turn people into dazed, burned out zombies.