<p>The theme of this article is that the Ivy League schools, along with Stanford and MIT, based on shear wealth, are leaving the publics in the dust, and the difference is only likely to become bigger.
No mention of the top LACs, though.</p>
<p>Depends. Many public schools don't have the resources or ability to accommodate kids with certain needs, so private is obviously the ideal choice. </p>
<p>Then again, there are many public schools that have a wealth of resources...</p>
<p>I think the gap between poor and wealthy state-sponsored schools needs to be closed. All people are created equal, but all people aren't educated equally.</p>
<p>I believe that it would be sheer wealth, not shear wealth... unless we start getting into fault zones.</p>
<p>shear..."to become divided upon action of a sheer"
What about the thrust of the article?</p>
<p>There are too many issues lumped together in the article; it's rather indigestible.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Housing. I wish that Harvard's endowment led to better housing. S is bunking all four years. Luxury? Whassat? Meanwhile, BU's overflow results in students lodged in the Hyatt across the river. Nice if you can get it. </p></li>
<li><p>raiding profs. This is not a zero sum game. The problem is not actually that Ivy Plus are raiding stars at public universities but that the faculty is aging and thus cannot be renewed. I know a recent Physics Ph.D. with an absolutely stellar record who's gone into financial consulting. Where is the $500,000 salary waiting for him? I've been worried about my own kid, as I read a few years ago that only death will open up academic jobs in his field! </p></li>
</ol>
<p>What private universities (and not only the Ivy Plus) and colleges have going for them is being shielded from the vagaries of state politics funding booms and busts.</p>
<p>I'm amused at the article's implication that a basic sanitary/public health measure - hand soap in dorms - is somehow decadent and luxurious.</p>
<p>I don't see how spending $800 psf on a building rather than a reasonable $350 yields much better results. </p>
<p>And despite the fact that as mentioned Wisconsin lost a few professors (most in non-research $$$$ heavy fields like English and Poli Sci) they managed to rise to the #1 ranking in total research funding while the Ivy schools mentioned lagged. BTW UW is now armed with a much more generous state budget and a $10,000,000 state funded faculty star retention fund).
"Statement from Chancellor John D. Wiley on the biennial budget agreement
Oct. 24, 2007</p>
<p>“I want to applaud Gov. Jim Doyle, the Democrats in the Senate and Assembly, and the Republicans in both houses who worked hard to bring these deliberations to a conclusion. </p>
<p>I appreciate those who value higher education and who truly believe in the art of compromise. I also want to thank the thousands of students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends who advocated tirelessly on our behalf. </p>
<p>This budget contains major victories for the university in student financial aid, faculty retention and the capital budget. Most importantly, this budget reverses a six-year trend of significant reductions in state support, and reflects agreement among far-sighted Democrats and Republicans on the importance this university holds for the people of the state. </p>
<p>We will continue to do the very best we can to serve the needs and interests of Wisconsin.”</p>
<p>
[quote]
I've been worried about my own kid, as I read a few years ago that only death will open up academic jobs in his field!
[/quote]
Same here. It's both inspiring and irritating to see the incredible tenacity of professors clinging to their emeritus positions. Not that I blame them; they'd probably just be replaced by visiting profs or adjuncts anyway. </p>
<p>The article covered some good points, but I was very surprised not to see financial aid covered. I suspect the presence or absence of loans in a package does more than soap to woo students.</p>
<p>I've been worried about my own kid, as I read a few years ago that only death will open up academic jobs in his field! </p>
<p>-- it will be interesting if those academic jobs (in public or private institutions) even carry tenure by the time your S starts looking....</p>