They're interested in being educated more than being credentialed. They've tried new things and are eager to continue learning. Instead they've conducted themselves honestly and with integrity surrounding their coursework, activities and interests. Many of those institutions would be glad to have bright, enthusiastic, authentic applicants who haven't contorted themselves into freakishly unnatural positions on the minuscule chance of being accepted to a low admit rate institution. This situation reminds me of a Monty Python sketch: A hypnotist has built a new block of flats the only catch is that all its residents have to believe in its stability for it to stay up. Over the years, these beliefs can be 'confirmed' by specific events-an alumnus who becomes a billionaire, a professor who is awarded a Nobel Prize, the award of a large government grant or charitable gift-but the foundation for the ranking is in our shared belief. It's part of our culture, our shared beliefs, our folklore.
In other words, the names of the 'best' colleges in the country are something we all carry around in our heads. Most of us learned the names of these colleges and universities from our parents, siblings, teachers, and friends, especially when we were trying to decide where to go to college, and we pass these names along to our own kids in the same way. However, if students are genuinely searching for a comprehensive educational as opposed to a status-based experience and if they'd like to feel really wanted, they would do well to look at these schools.Ĭonsider as students research colleges that "most of us have never even visited any of these top-ranked campuses, and even fewer of us have any first-hand knowledge of what these elite colleges actually do that might qualify them as the best." If we took a few minutes to think carefully, we'd realize that
Some of their disadvantages may include being out of the mystical New England college aura being located in out-of-the-way areas (once thought to be an advantage for serious contemplation and study) being considered more regional or "second tier" according to rankings and perhaps lacking resources available to bigger names. In this post I highlight some excellent institutions with relatively high admit rates that would love to accept bright applicants and ensure they have a superior undergraduate experience.Īny of these institutions would provide a unique, participatory and genuinely transformative educational and personal experience. I also mentioned the negatives of having students as young as freshman year of high school try to mold themselves to fit these institutions' requirements to the detriment of their own lives. In my last post I focused on the futility of students' trying to get into high status, low admit rate colleges.
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