Page 156 - Crisis in Higher Education

Changing Attitudes and Expectations • 127

for applicants who receive substantial tuition discounts (scholarships) and
for the few applicants who have parents, families, members and friends
with the resources to pay the additional $150,000 without straining their
budgets. The remaining students, which represent a substantial majority,
are required to find other funding sources to cover the extra costs, and this
is often met, in large part, by additional borrowing.
The second question is more interesting because it considers whether
the benefits of a degree from an elite university exceed the cost. Paying
$150,000 extra means that graduates have $150,000 less to save and invest.
Investing $150,000 and earning an annual return of 6% for 40 years would
cause this amount to grow about 10 times and become about $1,500,000.
So, students attending an elite university must earn $1,500,000 more over
40 years of working than students attending an average public univer-
sity, just to break even. (Actually, the $1,500,000 would be wages that are
saved plus investment returns on those savings.) What advantages do
elite universities offer? Many people claim that these graduates receive
a better education and have better networking opportunities and status.
By extension, these advantages lead to greater income and happier lives.
The following statements examine these claims.

1. A better university provides a better education: Proving that one uni-
versity provides a better education than another is difficult, especially
if the assessment involves how much knowledge is gained during the
process. Universities that admit only the best high school graduates
should have the best educated graduates. When ability and knowl-
edge are better to begin with, the expected outcome for that person
should be higher. Considering an example from sports, average ath-
letes may run the 40-yard dash in 5.0 seconds. They hire trainers and
cut the time to 4.7 seconds. Elite athletes may run the 40-yard dash in
4.4 seconds. They hire elite trainers and cut the time to 4.32 seconds.
The elite athlete is still faster, but the average athlete showed more
improvement. These facts do not prove that one trainer is better than
the other. In academics, the ACT, which is a standardized test used
by many universities to judge the quality of applicants, is like the
40-yard dash for athletes. To provide some perspective, the national
average for the ACT is between 20 and 21, and a perfect score is 36.
Accepted applicants at Ivy League schools typically score between 30
13
and 35. It would not be shocking if Ivy League graduates who scored
33 on the ACTs know more and are better prepared for work than