3 ms·

The whole concept of "getting into X" especially in American education is ridiculous. It shows how unhealthy the system is if you can't trust someone's degree i

• OkayPhysicist 3y ago
  I wouldn't blame the education system as much as I'd blame industry in this case, actually. The problem is companies that are too big for their britches: Most of the time, you don't need the best of the best. You need someone who will show up on time, get the work done, and not turn out to be so abrasive that they alienate the rest of your team. Most companies are not working on hard problems, they're not even working on tricky problems. They're just working on the remaining problems. Average should be adequate, and that's what average schools produce. Of course, some places are working on genuinely hard problems. They need outstanding individuals, and these are what elite schools offer: They've already done the filtering, ensuring that the very highest performing individuals disproportionately possess one of their diplomas. The elite school may or may not have the greatest instructors, but regardless the students will get a superior education simply due to the fact that they are embedded in an environment that surrounds them with outstanding talent. In this way what university you went to acts a signifier as to your abilities, not just how much you know, but how rapidly you're able to learn new things, and how much work you're willing to put in.
• dexwiz 3y ago
  It's because there are enough rich people who only want to hire Ivy League graduates. Not for any fact other than everyone around them that is Ivy League tells them its the best place to hire from.