The problem with elite schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. What is "Swat"
2. I don't see what's so wrong with seeing college as mostly a vehicle to get a good job. I don't want my son to major in philosophy. He wants to major in computer science and I'm glad. The goal is for him to be a responsible, self supporting adult. Sure, I want him to have thoughtful, intellectual conversations and be exposed to new ideas and ways of thinking but mostly I want him to get his ticket stamped so he can get a good job and be intellectually challenged in his work life. I think professors want us to put college and academics on a pedestal because it's their life but I think a lot of the time spent in college is frivilous and a waste of time.

Signed, BA, MA recipient.

Swat = Swarthmore (historically top 3 LAC along with Williams and Amherst).

2. I dont disagree with you but just clearing up the misconception that SLAC's as a whole are completely 'life of the mind' places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think its a great article. I went to an Ivy back in the day and from looking at them with DC and going back, I can tell you things have changed enormously. Now it seems everyone wants to go into finance or Wall St. I maybe knew one or two people like that. Instead we had future academics, journalists, public interest advocates, writers. Where are those students now? At SLACs, where they are immersed in the world of ideas and not the world of pre-professionalism.

My sister just graduated from swat (which is historically much less 'preprofessional' than NESCAC slacs that DCUM's love - and she said that even within the four years she was there, each incoming class became more and more pre-professional.

McKinsey came on campus for info session and packed the room supposedly - the number 1 question she was asked by freshman this past year was regarding how to gain relevant internships asap to position oneself for future recruiting from 'top firms'.

My sister doesn't even want her 6 figure silicon valley job (she wants to be an urban farmer) but within her circle at swat, kids are leaving for 6 figure jobs in tech firms or finance/wallstreet, or top strategy consulting.

Yes, you have your med school and ph.d kids (which still occurs at a higher percentage at swat than other places) but even SLAC's are becoming more and more preprofessional.

I was the PP that talked about the draw of the ivies being 'access' and not the actual education. SLAC's are turning into the same way.

As I said, it isn't a school issue - it is a societal issue. Values, Competition, tougher to maintain standards of living or rise in 'economic class' cause students to act this way.

I agree that this is a societal issue. Rising income inequality makes kids and their parents feel more insecure, and this insecurity is causing them to choose professions where you have a higher chance of getting a job that pays well. I don't think anybody is born with a passionate desire to work on Wall Street. I've talked to some students who say things like, "I'm going to do this a few years and then retire and do something socially worthwhile," but you know that is unlikely to happen.

As for going into academia, kids understand that there are few tenure-track positions these days. Instead colleges are hiring adjuncts, and MOOCs may end up narrowing the field even more. So while I think archeology and philosophy are great majors, I can't blame any kid for looking at the field and deciding that there are just not enough tenure-track jobs for the gamble to make sense.

BIL teaches at SWAT and has said similar things about the increasing pre-professionalism of the students. Still, it would be wrong to generalize and say that "all" Swat kids are aiming for law or business school. In the same way, though, it would be equally wrong and an over-generalization to say that all kids in the ivies are doing the same. DC is at an ivy and is not pre-professional. DC says that the pre-business and pre-med kids are a pretty intense, focused bunch, but they are not even half the class.

I also think that rising tuition and student loan burdens has made kids less able (ability is different from desire, of course) to go into lower-paying professions like teaching and social work.

[Anonymous]

"Look beneath the façade of seamless well-adjustment, and what you often find are toxic levels of fear, anxiety, and depression, of emptiness and aimlessness and isolation."

Odd that the author seems to think that being "passionate about ideas" is a prophylactic to fear, anxiety, depression, emptiness, aimlessness, and isolation. Aren't these hallmarks of the greatest writers, artists, poets, and musicians?

[Anonymous]

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-elite-college-students-pursue-finance-jobs-2014-2

Scroll down for a table of a sampling of 'top schools' and what fields grads are going into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.businessinsider.com/why-elite-college-students-pursue-finance-jobs-2014-2

Scroll down for a table of a sampling of 'top schools' and what fields grads are going into.

Did the article say what schools lead to new business and growt? Public service beyond TFA would be interesting.

[Anonymous]

Not so much the schools, but what fields lead to business creation and growth?

[Anonymous]

For instance, I read that the University of Michigan is among schools with alumni who start and/or acquire businesses and keep them running at rates nearly twice the national average.