2008 Woodie Awards
Ivy Meritocracy
Kim Lyon
Issue date: 11/11/05 Section: Life & Times
- Page 1 of 1
Jerome Karabel, author of "The Chosen" released last month, drives one more blow to the "meritocracy" of Ivy League universities. He shows how the current admissions process consisting of personal essays, interviews, résumés and recommendation letters was fashioned out of 1930's anti-Semitism.
Initially, the Big Three universities (Harvard, Princeton and Yale) saw no problem in structuring an incoming class. Applicants took a test and those who passed the test were admitted with the exception of athletic recruits and sons of alumni. But when immigration exploded during the Second World War, the three most prestigious universities on the East Coast saw their Jewish matriculation triple. The presidents of the universities, feeling compelled to uphold their brand, sought a way to keep their Jewish student population to a 'manageable minimum.' In short, they feared the influx of Jews would scare away the members of the WASP establishment, that is, the white upper class Protestants. Needless to say, the Big Three could not afford to offend their very generous WASP alumni.
The new admissions process was a smokescreen of objectivity behind which the admissions officers could hide safely from scrutiny in their subjective search for "leadership" and "character." The number of Jews admitted to Princeton, Yale and Harvard fell tremendously, and though the universities were admitting less apt scholars, they were maintaining the status quo and that was more than enough. But during the Cold War, when intellectual capital was ever so important, the definition of 'merit' shifted again from breeding to brains, and the admissions officers made the necessary adjustments.
Today, the major controversy lies in how the smokescreen admissions process of exclusion has flipped into one of inclusion. With all the talk of Affirmative Action, the definition of "merit" once more underwent a transformation, this time to mean diversity. While the top universities make a greater effort to admit students from racially more diverse backgrounds, most of those admitted are still from the upper echelons of economic privilege. It must be unfair that the rich are being given the esteemed higher education necessary to succeed in today's marketplace, in effect reinforcing the lack of social mobility. But really, how valuable is an Ivy League education?
A National Bureau of Economic Research study by economist Alan Krueger and Stacy Dale a few years back claims not more than any other college education. This, of course, is good news for Rollins students who feel secure in attending a reputable accredited college. The study shows that those who went to Ivy League schools earned the same income, down the line, as graduates from other colleges who exemplified the qualities that employers are looking for. "It's not the school that has the magic touch," Krueger said. "It's the students." Once you get past the first interview with an employer and into the workplace, competence matters more than credentials.
So while the privilege of attending an Ivy League might be decided upon by the archaic principles of the old boys, and while it might not be very "meritocratic" depending on whatever today's definition of merit is, it is a privilege that only takes one as far as names.
Initially, the Big Three universities (Harvard, Princeton and Yale) saw no problem in structuring an incoming class. Applicants took a test and those who passed the test were admitted with the exception of athletic recruits and sons of alumni. But when immigration exploded during the Second World War, the three most prestigious universities on the East Coast saw their Jewish matriculation triple. The presidents of the universities, feeling compelled to uphold their brand, sought a way to keep their Jewish student population to a 'manageable minimum.' In short, they feared the influx of Jews would scare away the members of the WASP establishment, that is, the white upper class Protestants. Needless to say, the Big Three could not afford to offend their very generous WASP alumni.
The new admissions process was a smokescreen of objectivity behind which the admissions officers could hide safely from scrutiny in their subjective search for "leadership" and "character." The number of Jews admitted to Princeton, Yale and Harvard fell tremendously, and though the universities were admitting less apt scholars, they were maintaining the status quo and that was more than enough. But during the Cold War, when intellectual capital was ever so important, the definition of 'merit' shifted again from breeding to brains, and the admissions officers made the necessary adjustments.
Today, the major controversy lies in how the smokescreen admissions process of exclusion has flipped into one of inclusion. With all the talk of Affirmative Action, the definition of "merit" once more underwent a transformation, this time to mean diversity. While the top universities make a greater effort to admit students from racially more diverse backgrounds, most of those admitted are still from the upper echelons of economic privilege. It must be unfair that the rich are being given the esteemed higher education necessary to succeed in today's marketplace, in effect reinforcing the lack of social mobility. But really, how valuable is an Ivy League education?
A National Bureau of Economic Research study by economist Alan Krueger and Stacy Dale a few years back claims not more than any other college education. This, of course, is good news for Rollins students who feel secure in attending a reputable accredited college. The study shows that those who went to Ivy League schools earned the same income, down the line, as graduates from other colleges who exemplified the qualities that employers are looking for. "It's not the school that has the magic touch," Krueger said. "It's the students." Once you get past the first interview with an employer and into the workplace, competence matters more than credentials.
So while the privilege of attending an Ivy League might be decided upon by the archaic principles of the old boys, and while it might not be very "meritocratic" depending on whatever today's definition of merit is, it is a privilege that only takes one as far as names.