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A comment on America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree. Parent comment

Re:America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree by nradov on Monday October 06, 2008 @08:10PM (#325482)
It's funny how the price vs. demand curve is often inverted in the education marketplace. Charging higher prices signals customers to think that the education must really be better, and so more students try to get in even when the actual quality of education is no better than at cheaper schools.

Having more data available about the value added by each school would certainly help eliminate this market inefficiency. But if that value add were to be calculated using a standardized test taken by all entering freshmen and graduating seniors that could lead to unintended consequences, such as teaching to the exam rather than providing a liberal education.

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Re:America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree by lg on Monday October 06, 2008 @08:35PM (#325503)
I don't think price makes people think it's a better education; I think it's US News rankings and popular hearsay put out by books and movies. I bet that everyone who shops diligently for these things believes that the Cooper Union is great, but that expensive non-famous liberal arts colleges are not.
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