Monday, May 02, 2005
Educating a penguin: Part II
In an earlier post, I told the story of my college visit trip with my son Max. The saga continues, and we are in the middle of standardized testing and planning summer visits and such. To continue my education I read Loren Pope's controversial book, Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You. Although the book is 10-years old, and the data in the book is older than that, the author's premise that large name-brand universities are over-rated and that smaller less-well-known liberal arts schools do a better job educating at the undergraduate level is thought provoking and worth considering.
This post is not a tell-all confession by a large-university insider, but it is no secret that large research universities emphasize research. That small liberal arts schools might better educate undergraduates should come as no surprise. That statistical studies of PhD productivity and Who's Who prominence tilt in favor of a number of largely unheralded liberal arts schools were news to me.
As a result, Max and I need to get back on the road, and included in our visits will be some of these apparently life-transforming institutions. Where Max goes will be his choice, but we need to take a more informed look off the beaten track.
This post is not a tell-all confession by a large-university insider, but it is no secret that large research universities emphasize research. That small liberal arts schools might better educate undergraduates should come as no surprise. That statistical studies of PhD productivity and Who's Who prominence tilt in favor of a number of largely unheralded liberal arts schools were news to me.
As a result, Max and I need to get back on the road, and included in our visits will be some of these apparently life-transforming institutions. Where Max goes will be his choice, but we need to take a more informed look off the beaten track.
