

Are elite U.S. universities worth it? - yankeeracer73
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/05/harvard-worth-it

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tkhaled
It will be interesting to see, in 15 or 20 years, what the collective
definition of elite education becomes. It is clearly related to the cultural
importance afforded to it by the inertia of what was valued in previous
generations and eons.

With the technological revolution that rewards innovation, perseverance,
ingenuity, and quality, all produced at high pace - the role of the actual
institution of education attended by someone seems to matter less than the
quality of their work.

It certainly does boil back to purpose, however, in the end: are you attending
because you want the name and the social networking to benefit you, or because
elite educators exist in that institution? If the latter, you can still get a
top education at less-than-elite institutions; if the former, however, as long
as well-connected, wealthy, and powerful minds attend school together, there
will always be a value to so-called elite schooling, for certain people.

For my two cents, the value of 'elite' education is increasingly irrelevant to
the state of industry, innovation, and employment.

