senderista 5 days ago

Not sure why you're getting downvotes; I think this is quite accurate.

1
riskassessment 5 days ago

They did not mention research which is like the defining characteristic of a university. They seem to be condescendingly grouping research into the category of "status/prestige"

wagwang 5 days ago

I was thinking of it from what an undergrad is trying to get out of college, graduate+ is an entirely different scene admittedly

riskassessment 5 days ago

Sure but I think it's an oversimplification to say that universities are unfocused and that this lack of focus is a problem because 1) the alternative already exists (smaller colleges are typically focused primarily on education with less research and less sports) 2) Universities doing a lot of things (including offering undergrads connections to research labs) is one of the main reasons that they are an attractive option relative to colleges.

wagwang 5 days ago

I've heard similar arguments

1) if they were effective then we wouldnt see millions of students jumping into 60k a year private institutions

2) I don't buy this at all, I think students mostly select based on prestige. Academic rigor and research opportunities are mildly correlated to this but def not what high schoolers and their parents index on