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Everything makes sense when you think of Harvard and similar universities as selfish private institutions that want to maximize their reputation. They want the
by Aunche 4y ago
Everything makes sense when you think of Harvard and similar universities as selfish private institutions that want to maximize their reputation. They want the children of world leaders, billionaires, and actual super-geniuses. They don't want to dilute their brand with thousands of extra students with mundane backgrounds that end up being moderately successful professionals who make mid-six-figures. Affirmative action students give the school more credibility among URMs, so they offer more to Harvard than a somewhat more qualified Asian who isn't quite IMO medalist level.
- legitster 4y agoMy friend who was in a doctoral program put it best: "The point of academia is to make more academics. Bachelor and Master degrees are their funding source."
- snapplebobapple 4y agoIt's more than this. It's way better to think of Harvard et al as large hedge funds abusing the school tax loophole. They do want the children who will be world leaders, billionaires etc. but it is because those are the most likely to donate to the hedge fund. They don't want to grow admission because it might hurt hedge fund donations but also because educating people is secondary to their actual purpose and should only be engaged in to the point that their primary purpose is maximized (middle management doesn't make the kind of donations worth worrying about for a hedge fund, they want a higher minimum efficient scale).