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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The rebuttal is that prestigious colleges want successful alumni, not a bunch of scholars, per se.  Prestigious schools want leaders across the spectrum of society, not just the arcane arts of English literature and philosophy.

So, not all students at prestigious colleges are the smartest of the application pool, but they are smart enough, and when coupled with their family wealth and connections, will be successful in life. While some may not like that, that very alumni may be the one that hires or mentors your super-intelligent, middle-class kid.

This is nothing new, and it’s fine. The only people that find this shocking are those who come from environments where the schools they attend are based strictly on a test score. But, that too seems like a very narrow definition of merit, as we can talk all day about who has the wealth to prepare a kid for a specific exam. [/quote]

So you admit wealth is the driver, not natural ability. [/quote]

Not exactly.[b] Wealthy people are not dumb, but they may not be the smartest - they are oftentimes smart enough. That said, when you combine their smarts, wealth, and connections, they are frequently successful, which schools and their future students value. Of course, one can come from wealth and be a genius too - they’re not mutually exclusive. [/quote][/b]

That’s exactly the point the Inside Higher Ed article was making. Wealthy people don’t have to be smart to succeed. Therefore they don’t get ahead based on merit, it’s all based on wealth. But it’s in poor taste to admit that in public so instead they claim “merit”[/quote]

You need to re-read these posts. You keep wanting to say that wealth equals success, and a prestigious education launders that into merit.

The posts in this thread, however, are saying that wealth alone (not talking about extreme/billionaire wealth), while helpful, is insufficient to get into prestigious colleges. To get in, a kid needs very good test scores, curriculum, grades, ECs and recommendations. But, wealth makes it easier to get those things. That is, there’s a high correlation between wealth, good-enough smarts, and the trappings of an interesting application.

But, if you define merit as the kid with the highest test score, the wealthy kid may not make the cut. Then again, there are a lot of kids with high test scores that are very unimpressive individuals. Prestigious schools want the package. Holistically, merit is the package, not a brainiac test scores or award. [/quote]

Elite colleges are disproportionately wealthy. You’re kidding yourself if your argument is not [i]all[/i] wealthy kids get into elite colleges, therefore wealth alone isn’t enough. Wealth plays a larger role than any other factor and you know it.

Secondly, this isn’t just about elite colleges. Wealth can be laundered into merit at places like Bucknell, Wake, Tulane and we see it all the time on DCUM. [/quote]

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