Popular media forms propagate the idea that ivy league schools are the ultimate destination place for those desiring power and influence. William Deresiewicz, author of Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, speaks to the contrary in a Fortune magazine interview, “Students who attend an elite school make the same amount of money as those who could have gone to an elite school but chose not to, because what matters is the kid, not the school.” The promise of an elite education is the perceived path to “success” and wealth, and elite schools often receive praise for their superior graduates and exceptional professors. However, if Deresiewicz is correct and what matters is the individual, what are the elite universities doing for a student who is likely going thousands of dollars into debt to attend? Ivy league universities and other top tier schools are not, in fact, providing the highest quality education possible or promoting genuine
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Some of these schools, such as Stanford University, even sell access to their students for thousands and thousands of dollars (Deresiewicz, Excellent Sheep 71). David Foster Wallace explained it this way, “The college itself turned out to have a lot of moral hypocrisy about it, e.g., congratulating itself on its diversity and the leftist piety of its politics while in reality going about the business of preparing elite kids to enter elite professions and make a great deal of money, thus increasing the pool of prosperous alumni donors” (The Pale King 75). This all adds up to the conclusion that universities want their students to pursue lucrative careers, despite them being personally unsatisfying, socially damaging, or contrary to their students’
Some of these schools, such as Stanford University, even sell access to their students for thousands and thousands of dollars (Deresiewicz, Excellent Sheep 71). David Foster Wallace explained it this way, “The college itself turned out to have a lot of moral hypocrisy about it, e.g., congratulating itself on its diversity and the leftist piety of its politics while in reality going about the business of preparing elite kids to enter elite professions and make a great deal of money, thus increasing the pool of prosperous alumni donors” (The Pale King 75). This all adds up to the conclusion that universities want their students to pursue lucrative careers, despite them being personally unsatisfying, socially damaging, or contrary to their students’