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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]because attending an elite private college can have a tremendous positive impact on the lives of low-income, immigrant and minority students. The same experience doesn't affect the outcome for rich white men.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/does-it-matter-where-you-go-college/577816/

I learned in a talk recently that students who apply to elite colleges end up doing as well as those who actually attend them. [/quote]

As a first generation college parent who went to a state school and whose kids went to an "elite private college," I would say this post is both misleading and nonsensical. 
  
                    1) Yes, students who attend some elite private schools have many opportunities not available to most kids attending most state schools;

2)  The post seems to assume that if you are not a low-income, immigrant or minority student, you must be a "rich white man."  That's obviously false.   White students who are not rich benefit enormously from what is offered at elite private schools.  And most white students are not rich. Far from it.

3) The cited article does not say what the OP wrote.  To the contrary, it says right in the subtitle (and in the body) that elite private schools can have a big effect "if you are not rich, not white, or not a guy."  So non-rich white guys and white women (presumably both rich and non-rich white women but that isn't clear in the article) do get a real boost from attending an elite school.

Of course, this state school grad couldn't help but notice the entire article - which seems to be based on two different studies -- measures the "boost" from an elite education in terms of income.   While that's not a bad proxy in some instances, it can be very deceptive talking about "elite colleges."

A) Some of the most prestigious jobs in America are disproportionately given to graduates of elite colleges but are not necessarily the highest paying in a field.   For example, Supreme Court Justices.  While the focus is on their overwhelmingly "elite" law schools, they also usually have had elite college educations.

B) Think tanks. positions at certain publications, and some federal government positions tend to attract grads from elite schools, but may be lower paying jobs.

C)   The "rich white guys" at elite schools often don't seek out the highest paying jobs because they don't have too.  Yes, some fill up high paying consulting shops and finance positions, but go to any elite private school and you will hear a strong counter-movement against those "soul crushing" jobs.   If mommy and daddy have money, you can work for Teach for America, other non-profits, etc.  Kids at state schools usually don't feel that freedom so they seek out higher paying jobs.

Finally, even if you accept the premise that elite colleges can change the lives of poor, immigrant and minority students more than white students (which has not been shown), that does not ipso facto lead to a conclusion that schools should simply accept more of them. Schools already exercise great discretion in taking into account each applicants difficult circumstances and do not hold all students to the same standards of grades and standardized tests. An academic institution may see itself as helping to promote social engineering, but that is not its primary reason for being.

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