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We may nitpick at which process gives more equitable chances of admission to Dartmouth. But ultimately we are still saddled with the absurd notion (and very rea
by wnc3141 3y ago
We may nitpick at which process gives more equitable chances of admission to Dartmouth. But ultimately we are still saddled with the absurd notion (and very real prospect) that a ticket to the middle class depends on winning very costly degrees. - particularly degrees whose brand recognition enables employment with greater proximity to the deployment of capital rather than operation of capital.
Meanwhile there is little discussion of why issues of equity in admissions are zero sum rather than leveraging multi-billion dollar endowments to expand access overall.
- sokoloff 3y agoEducation scales to a point, but doesn’t scale infinitely. Professors are limited; labs are limited; dorms are limited; campus real estate is limited. Some of those are amenable to short-term growth; others are not.
- closeparen 3y agoEndowments are used to fund scholarships for students from middle-class and lower backgrounds. The degree is only costly to the extent that your parents are to well-off or your school's endowment is too small. (This is a serious problem if your parents are well-off but stingy, or if you get into an elite-ish but not actually top-tier college). Endowments, like universities, are meant to be perpetual, so the amount of access they can provide is limited by the return on capital. Some people would perhaps like to see the principal spent down, which could provide dramatically more access in the short term, but then the money would be gone.