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Conyat: good points in post #18...probably wouldn't hurt to have a few Republicans and military veterans among the students and faculty at elite colleges too.
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<p>Thanks for the kind words. I am sure the elite colleges have plenty of Republican students. George Bush got into Yale, didn't he? I doubt he can be the only member of the party whose degree came from a selective school. </p>
<p>I don't know how many military vets there are at the elites. I suspect that for many of those who are likely to go to elite schools, the career trajectory is elite U/military academy first, enter as an officer, then go back to school for graduate work. </p>
<p>In my experience as someone who has supervised military reservists, ready reserve, and national guardsmen, I've noticed that it's very hard for an enlisted person to complete his or her education while still having any sort of commitment to the military. (You can be reactivated suddenly for years after an honorable discharge). I had a LANG employee who got activated every semester for two years; each semester it was just late enough that she couldn't get much of her tuition back and had to take a W or failing grade. Unfortunately, universities aren't required to make allowances for this the way employers are; some of the students whose Guard units got activated to help with Katrina ended up failing their classes because their professors wouldn't let them make up the work. </p>
<p>So yeah, a veteran preference would probably be a good idea; maybe those who go on to teach would understand better. Some schools may give a veteran preference for all I know.</p>