I was surprised that anyone was surprised by this. Although it is always worth having solid numbers, the conclusion struck me as completely obvious. "Belongingness" at elite institutions is only about "talent" to a limited degree. It is at least as much about a raft of social and class assumptions that can make such places extremely uncomfortable for people who have come from the "wrong" stratum. (Captured crudely, but pointedly, I thought, in the movie "The Social Network.")
The consequences are not only about what graduate school the student is eventually accepted into, but about the kind of undergraduate training they get, what they come to accept as "successful" work, the level of work that they come to view as adequate, etc. That is, what is described as "talent" isn't "pure." It is conditioned by the kind of training one has received over a period of years. It affects one's entire "world view." I have seen this happen from time to time when a talented student arrives into a somewhat weaker-than-normal cohort of students, and consequently develops a poorer work ethic that s/he should and is satisfied with work that is not reflective of his/her full abilities because his/her sense of these things is gauged against one's immediate social and intellectual context. Chris ....... Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo On 2013-03-17, at 8:52 AM, "Mike Palij" <[email protected]> wrote: > The NY Times summarizes a report by a couple of Harvard economists > who examined the college application patterns of students at different > income levels. One of their disturbing conclusions is that students in the > bottom quartile of family income and who would qualify for admission > to selective colleges (but which may be far from home) apply to such > colleges at far lower rates than students in the highest quartile. > The following figure captures the main point: > http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/17/education/How-Top-Students-of-Different-Incomes-Apply-for-College.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130317 > The NY Times article can be accessed here: > http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/education/scholarly-poor-often-overlook-better-colleges.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130317&_r=0 > > The research article that the NY Times article is based on can be > accessed here: > http://www.nber.org/papers/w18586 > NOTE: Abstract is free but the actual paper costs $5. A version > of the report is to be published in the Brookings Institution journal > "Brookings Papers on Economic Activity"; see: > http://www.brookings.edu/about/projects/bpea > > One unexamined implications of Hixby and Avery's analysis is that > "nonselective" and state colleges and universities probably have many > more talented students than one would predict because so few talented > but poor students apply to selective colleges. An implication that > some college professors appreciate. > > However, there may be significant long-term consequences of not > applying to selective colleges if one is qualified for them especially > for psychology majors: it will probably affect which graduate program > they may be able to get into. And as I have previously pointed out, > there is research that shows whether psychology Ph.D.s get jobs > after they graduate depends upon where they got their degree; see: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg09706.html > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=430248.781165b5ef80a3cd2b14721caf62bd92&n=T&l=tips&o=24382 > or send a blank email to > leave-24382-430248.781165b5ef80a3cd2b14721caf62b...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=24386 or send a blank email to leave-24386-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
