JOHNSON: Ivy League institutions help rich get richer
Ivy League institutions are helping the rich get richer. These highly regarded schools, long coveted by students and parents, seem engineered solely to reinforce the idea that elite education only has room for elite families.
The entire concept of Ivy League schools is based on exclusion. Many students apply, and a lucky few are admitted — or at least that is how it may seem. In reality, luck does not play a role for most admitted students.
At many of these top schools, a significant portion of available spots for students are set aside for those who are wealthy enough to go to college prep schools or students who come from generations of Ivy League alums. For these applicants, it is more of an expectation to gain admission rather than a stroke of luck.
Consider Harvard. Of their sub 4 percent acceptance rate, 32 percent of students came from 11 percent of well-established high schools in 2013, and 30 percent of admitted students are legacy applicants in 2023. Many Harvard goers' admission was cemented with family ties, their pricey private school education, or both.
Many wealthy families understand the value of an Ivy League education, so much so that they begin strategizing early, deciding which high school to attend with college in mind. To them, a prestigious college education is a clear pathway to a successful future.
Little room is left for lower-income students to be admitted, who could benefit greatly from an Ivy League education. Without an elite-level college education, lower-class students are stunted from gaining lucrative career advantages. Instead, billion-dollar industries like Wall Street recruit strictly from the top schools in the nation, further perpetuating the lack of socioeconomic growth.
While students with wealthy backgrounds may thrive even without the backing of a prestigious college, those facing economic hardships often rely on a college education as an escape from hardships. Yet, admissions reflect that these institutions routinely value tradition and financial privilege.
An Ivy League education has evolved to represent what anthropologist Karen Ho coined as a "culture of smartness."
This theory goes beyond the actual intellect of Ivy League students and rather what they represent. An Ivy League education is deemed to have a level of impressiveness that is a powerful currency in plenty of industries. To powerful firms, hiring Ivy League graduates means hiring the best minds in the world. Minds that are backed by the credibility of top-tier schools.
The concept of smartness has become more image-based — coming from a privileged background and attending an elite school — rather than being about tangible skills. This makes it even harder for most people to compete. Hard work and developed skills prove a person's merit, but when companies look for applicants who represent an elite image, that is not something most people can provide despite working hard.
But this pedestal view of Ivy League education can discourage many students from pursuing a more economical or comfortable option. Malcolm Gladwell argues that an Ivy League school can be too overwhelming for even the smartest of students. Students who have excelled in school their entire early education might be more discouraged than inspired.
The intense competition of an Ivy League school can turn what could have been an encouraging challenge into something that strips students of their passion for learning. Yet, students are tunneled toward Ivy League schools because they are considered the "better schools" automatically.
And so, Ivy League graduates go on to get high-paying jobs, focusing the wealth among the already privileged. Once wealthy families have already cemented their child's spot in the Ivy League, it is only a small pivot from elite education to a lifetime of fortune.
Meanwhile, students without Ivy League education wonder where they fit in a world that values prestige over potential. The journey might be harder for students who attend their local state schools, but with grit, they can achieve success in a system that is designed to serve their elite peers.
Lina Johnson is a sophomore in the School of Arts and Science majoring in communications. Johnson’s column, “The View from Rutgers,” runs on alternate Mondays.
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