> this is true for every country on the planet No, it's a cultural thing. There's really two points in that article: - (1) people are overestimating the actua

> this is true for every country on the planet No, it's a cultural thing. There's really two points in that article: - (1) people are overestimating the actual lifetime effects of attending an elite school. - (2) people are obsessing over attending (or their children attending) elite schools. That second one is a spiritual failure, not just one of ignorance. That upper middle-class obsession with the brand of education may not be uniquely american (i read similar horror stories about china for example), but it is certainly very pronounced here. It is in no way similar to how kids and families choose universities in say western europe imho.