<p>Thedad, correction, I have a Toyota, but after a long day at work, my brain does not work anymore therefore the Toyota becomes a Honda. So sorry for misleading anyone. But Honda is also a great car.</p>
<p>Is it actually true that all schools administer the survey that differently, in fact causing the samples to be different from one another in measurable ways at different schools? Do Yale and Harvard do it differently from one another?</p>
<p>Actually they all do it - or try to do it - in essentially the same way. Harvard just does it better.</p>
<p>As the good Princeton professor acknowledges:</p>
<p>"It used to be the case that of students who were admitted to Harvard and Princeton or Harvard and Yale, seven of 10 would choose to go to Harvard," Katz says. "It may be more now. There is a tendency for the academically best to skew even more to Harvard. We just get our socks beat off in those cases."</p>
<p>Many experts have examined the issue, and concluded that absent price as a factor, it is easy to see why there is such a harsh "winner take all" rule applicable to higher education.</p>
<p>If they all administer the survey in the same way then the samples are equivalent across schools and the comparative results on student satisfaction are valid. In fact if Harvard does it "better" then their results should be even more representative of the true feelings of their student body.</p>
<p>SusieQ, no problem, I know lots of folks who are Fonda Honda.</p>
<p>Fwiw, there are reasons other than caring what people think to buy a Lexus.</p>
<p>I've been favorable impressed with every Toyota I've ever driven...a Corolla is high on my recommendation of what I think D should get for her first car and it's the model she used in the driving school. The thing is, I'm even more impressed with the Camry than the Corolla, I like the Avalon even more than the Camry, and there's reason to suppose that I'd like going up the line another notch even more. It's true that in my business I need a car of a certain level for clients but the Avalon is just fine.</p>
<p>Otoh, I would never own a BMW.</p>
<p>Byerly, first of all, two of the three links you keep giving in this context do not work. Secondlly, your response to Alumother is off topic...you know she is asking about the way in which that particular survey is distributed/administered at comparable schools, and you immediately respond by promoting Harvard's superiority in atttracting students. No one is questioning that. (By the way, when you do this, you significantlyreduce your credibility as a resource about Harvard ).</p>
<p>I would assume the surveys would be of value to the individual institutions in evaluating areas where students feel there is room for improvement. However, I agree with Byerly. There is virtually no basis here for comparing schools to each other. Just because the Harvard student body feels they need more entertainment does not make Mt Holyoke a more invigorating or entertaining environment for students. Just because one student body thinks their library is great doesn't mean a student from Harvard visiting that campus would think it is great. The only way to have a cross comparision would be for students from all campuses to visit and evaluate in-depth, all other campuses.</p>
<p>It is Alumother who is, in fact, "off topic" and attempting to hijack the thread.</p>
<p>The discussions of Honda vs Toyota vs Lexus vs SAAB are at least tangetally on topic.</p>
<p>Well, to return to the topic, this article was well below your usual standards of proof, Byerly, someone might even get the idea you're just a Harvard tr**l.</p>
<p>Well, a retrospective of your prior posts certainly tells us what YOU think of Harvard now, Idler! </p>
<p>Hope the boy is still satisfied with Stanford. Incidentally, did you have a daughter applying this year as well, or am I mistaken about that?</p>
<p>^ you seem to have a neck in dragging entire family when the discussion don't go your way. That is very offensive.</p>
<p>Your posts suggest that you got in to H not by merit, but due to other factors with a very generous fin aid. Your posts also suggest that you have binary logic.</p>
<p>Daughter is a senior at MICA, Maryland Institute College of Art. You're right, I have the highest esteem for Harvard, my father's college.</p>
<p>Also your uncle's as I recall!</p>
<p>Incidentally, I am amused by posters such as Simba and Alumother who mutter darkly about the college prejudices of others, speculate as to the evil sources of the same, and decree that the views of those with whom they disagree should be dismissed or abhored on this basis, while nevertheless deeming themselves immune to similar, tiresome pop-psychological pidgeonholing.</p>
<p>Also Father- in- law, who as a pitcher shut out Yale at Fenway in front of 25000 spectators. That was in '29, I think.</p>
<p>Yes, that was the one I was thinking of. Before the Crash!</p>
<p>Its always striking to me that any article about elite colleges has to include a disclaimer such as the one in this article
[quote]
It's not as though its degrees guarantee great jobs. According to research from the University of Pennsylvania, the percentage of top executives at Fortune 100 companies who were Ivy League undergrads dropped from 14% to 10% from 1980 to 2001.
[/quote]
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, there were 1.3 million bachelors degrees awarded in 2003. The total enrollment of all the ivy league colleges is about 58,000 undergrads, so I'd estimate 14,500 graduate each year.</p>
<p>Look at the ratio, then. Ivy grads represent a mere 1% of all college grads but end up with 10% of the top executive jobs in the Fortune 100. Sure, an ivy degree is no guarantee of sucess, but it does seem to hold at least some value :-)</p>
<p>Binary logic?</p>
<p>Byerly, perhaps you should change careers to the computer industry. Binary logic is what everything is based upon. Working in the industry I didn't realise it was not a good thing.</p>
<p>Regardless, perhaps you have a new career direction. This time I would suggest going back to MIT! ;-)</p>
<p>mikemac,</p>
<p>I agree, I have trouble with reporting like that. What they really want to show is that the Ivy league is not as dominant in the boardroom as it was but as you point out it is still dominant.</p>
<p>What they really should be showing is that other schools are also entering the elite category but the Harvard brand still reigns supreme. Whether or not it should is another story.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Byerly, perhaps you should change careers to the computer industry. ....This time I would suggest going back to MIT! ;-)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This triggers another, tangential point. I don't have any data to back it up, but my impression is that all of the uber-nerd kids (like medalists from int'l math & science olympiads) apply and get accepted to both MIT and Harvard, but that the majority then choose MIT. It's precisely that associative effect at work - they want to be with a critical mass of other kids like themselves, which keeps pulling them to MIT year after year.</p>