> The idea that elite universities produce elite university graduates is probably not controversial…
Isn’t it?
Re:I Met Paul Graham Once
by chrisweekly on Monday January 20, 2025 @08:02PM
(#42775129)
No, it's a statement of fact, akin to "universities produce graduates".
Re:I Met Paul Graham Once
by bryanrasmussen on Tuesday January 21, 2025 @01:27AM
(#42777191)
well this
{elite universities} produce {elite university} graduates
is of course tautological
but this
elite universities produce university graduates who are elite (meaning better than others)
is debatable.
Most people who say "elite universities produce elite university graduates" mean the second and then don't provide any especially great arguments for the opinion.
The only thing elite universities provide is, possibly, “elite” connections. The education is the same, you get out of it what you put into it.
The state schools of the US aren’t worse than Stanford or Harvard, you pay extra to hang out with people who can also afford to pay extra.
The college education system in the US is second only to the healthcare system in terms of “how fucked this system truly is” metric.
Though technically universities are more than just their endowments, business schools, engineering schools, sports teams, etc. They often have pretty good libraries, for example. Many universities also provide a variety of educational and course materials for free over the internet. Some train physicians and operate hospitals. And many universities have at least some minimal diversity of opinion on politics and policies.
The idea that elite universities produce elite university graduates is probably not controversial, and many of them were founded with the idea of producing "leaders", which they have arguably done.