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> There is no chance that changing the composition of the Ivy League student body will effect anything remotely resembling a broad-based change in American educ

> There is no chance that changing the composition of the Ivy League student body will effect anything remotely resembling a broad-based change in American educational inequality, opportunity, or aggregate outcomes. Zero. None. I think this misses the point of going to an ivy league. Would Obama have become president if he didn't have multiple ivy league schools in his pedigree? Maybe, but there's no doubt that the relationships he formed during those years drastically changed the trajectory of his life. OP is arguing that the undergraduate population of ivy league schools is tiny, so even if they admitted 100% minority students, there would still be millions of minority students who are being left out of the "top tier" education that can be received. Sure, that's true, but the fact that 16/45 of our presidents are ivy league alumni can't be ignored. So when a minority student goes to Harvard and ends up becoming president, he/she can end up changing not only policy decisions to improve outcomes for minority constituents, but also changes the narrative when it comes to who can attain political office at the highest level. So I would argue that there is absolutely a chance that changing the composition of ivy league student bodies can have an effect on American education inequality. Because some of those students will end up using that advantage to attain political office and affect change at a macro level.

redux-xplatform 6y ago
Forget the Ivy League—judging from elections from 2000 on, one is incredibly unlikely to become a major party candidate for President, let alone win, without having attended some kind of private college prep school, rather than a public high school. As I recall, Hillary is the only candidate who didn't. Sure, little Timmy, you can be anything you want, even President. Your parents are rich, right? No? Oh, uh, never mind.
xhkkffbf 6y ago
Will changing the composition matter? Maybe, but I think the schools are puffing up their roles and society is going along with them. Consider Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Did going to the Ivy League help them? They dropped out. A big reason they succeeded is because they came from stable families that supported their once crazy dreams. I'm afraid the Ivy League is going to find out that their adjunct teachers aren't any better than the adjuncts at other schools. In 20-30 years, the great successes will come from other schools-- something that's already much more true today than it was 50 years ago.
- viklove 6y ago
  I agree with you 100%, it's not about the quality of education. It's just about meeting and hanging out with the children of the rich and powerful. That's the most useful advantage you can give someone.

redux-xplatform 6y ago

Forget the Ivy League—judging from elections from 2000 on, one is incredibly unlikely to become a major party candidate for President, let alone win, without having attended some kind of private college prep school, rather than a public high school. As I recall, Hillary is the only candidate who didn't. Sure, little Timmy, you can be anything you want, even President. Your parents are rich, right? No? Oh, uh, never mind.

xhkkffbf 6y ago

Will changing the composition matter? Maybe, but I think the schools are puffing up their roles and society is going along with them. Consider Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Did going to the Ivy League help them? They dropped out. A big reason they succeeded is because they came from stable families that supported their once crazy dreams. I'm afraid the Ivy League is going to find out that their adjunct teachers aren't any better than the adjuncts at other schools. In 20-30 years, the great successes will come from other schools-- something that's already much more true today than it was 50 years ago.

viklove 6y ago
I agree with you 100%, it's not about the quality of education. It's just about meeting and hanging out with the children of the rich and powerful. That's the most useful advantage you can give someone.