<p>Muerte - Harvard et al. would be worried because, at least according to Karabel, in the world of higher education, “prestige is the coin of the realm” and there’s only so much to go around. It’s a zero-sum game, and the better Penn gets, the more that could detract from Harvard’s standing. Why do you think Harvard’s kept track of which schools take more than TEN of its accepts since the 1950s? Why did Princeton hack into Yale applicant’s accounts in the early 2000s? These schools compete with one another - at times, fiercely - and if Penn does indeed make up ground on the financial front, you can bet Harvard will start a financial campaign the likes of which have never been seen in human history.</p>
<p>Also, I’m not sure about your analysis regarding Penn’s financial standing. Say after Penn completes its financial campaign, it ends up with around an $8 Billion endowment. It’s true, MIT has an $8 Billion endowment, but MIT only has 10,000 students total. Penn has 20,000. For Penn to be able to offer the same per capita resources MIT offers, it’s endowment would have to be probably in the $14 - 16 Billion range. Moreover, I’m sure MIT’s endowment strategists are growing the MIT endowment - why would it just stay stagnant for the next couple years? </p>
<p>Finally, a liberal arts school is about a lot more than its academics. Yes, Penn has great medical and business schools, and a good law school, but for liberal arts colleges, reputation and standing add to a school’s appeal. Connections to power, networks, etc. matter (as Karabel argues), and Penn does not have anywhere the same network as Harvard etc., and it is not perceived as preparing its students for power in the same way as Harvard. To do this would take a generation or more, and that’s assuming that Harvard etc. aren’t also hard at work making sure the most doors remain open for their graduates. </p>
<p>Again, what you wish for Penn, I very much wish for my alma mater, Chicago. Chicago has great academics - perhaps already equivalent to a place like Yale - and with a $5.2 Billion dollar endowment for about 14K students, it’s wealthier than Penn on a per student basis. Just like President Rodin, Chicago’s President Zimmer has stated that his goal is to make Chicago “the best american university” - which at least applies competing on equal ground with Harvard etc. As much as I want to believe this, and despite all the good signs - a 42% increase in applications, an acceptance rate that has dropped 45% in 10 years, an endowment that’s in the top 8 or so in the US on a per capita basis, I just don’t see this happening. My personal goal is for Chicago to compete equally against Columbia within 10 years, but with Columbia’s location in NYC, I don’t know if any non-HYPS school can do this. So, overall, I guess I’m just more conservative in my analysis of how this will all play out.</p>