![]() However, with no formal syllabus or curriculum, the self-learner would find themselves overwhelmed by the amount of information online. Compare that to the library of just 320 volumes that were bequeathed by John Harvard for the founding of the eponymous university in 1636. At the time of writing, the English version of Wikipedia alone has over 5 million articles. Armed with a computer and an Internet connection, a self-motivated individual could, in theory, teach themselves anything that they want to know. However, we could argue that the greatest repository of human knowledge is now no longer a particular school, library or degree program. One tries to gain access to the best possible resources for the hope of a better future. Being admitted to an exclusive school is about gaining access to the knowledge and wisdom that they contain. The most exclusive schools offer the most exclusive degrees which carry the most prestige. The tradition of an institution awarding formal degree titles continues today. Oxford University was constructed in the 11th Century, with Cambridge following in the 13th. In Europe during the High Middle Ages, familiar formal degree titles were developed such as bachelor’s, master’s and doctorates. Ancient Athenian academic culture gave birth to the formal education system, with the most talented students being taught by the most renowned philosophers: think Socrates, Aristotle and Pythagoras. ![]() The rarity and exclusivity of knowledge as a resource is a theme that can be observed through history: the Library of Alexandria formed as a central repository of irreplaceable documents in ancient Egypt. Here, a selective cohort gravitated around a rare resource: the knowledge that was taught through lectures and discourse. Imagine yourself at Plato’s Academy, set amongst the olive groves of ancient Athens. Colleges, and the education system more broadly, are believed to have originated circa 387 BC. In short, good universities will give your job prospects a lift compared with non-attendance, especially if you are not already in an elite class, but they won’t necessarily make you any better off than if you had attended an institution further down the rankings table. However, a 2002 economics paper revealed that the salary increase from going to the most selective schools is “indistinguishable from zero”, although the “payoff to attending an elite college appears to be greater for students from more disadvantaged family backgrounds”. They confer a lifetime of assistance from prodigiously connected alumni and a message to all future employees that you’re a rarified talent.” It’s no wonder that many will try to secure a place by any means possible. Why is a place at a prestigious institution worth risking prosecution for a bribe of millions of dollars? Derek Thompson writes for The Atlantic that “Ivy League and equivalent institutions provide more than world-class instruction. The recent US college admissions scandal revealed that the family of a Chinese student paid $6.5 million to help her secure her place at Stanford University.īut let’s step back a second. Securing a place at a prestigious university is a big deal. Throughout the high school years they must sustain a high GPA, discover their interests, and apply for the best colleges. It is a journey that begins in the early years of a child’s life, requiring persistent effort from them, their teachers and their families. The barrier to entry for our top institutions isn’t just financial. ![]() This brings high pressure for the hope of a stable future. ![]() That’s 20 million people willing to invest multiple years of their lives and to incur an average of nearly $30,000 of debt in order to earn a degree, typically to maximize their chances of starting a career in the discipline of their choice. It is projected that over 20 million students will be enrolled in degree-granting institutions in the US in fall 2020.
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