October 11, 2005, [MD]
In an interesting article in the New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the history of the admission systems for the Ivy League schools in the US, especially focusing on Harvard. One of his points is that the admissions procedure was changed from one focusing purely on academic merit to one focusing more on “the whole person” (references, interview, etc) because the percentage of Jews admitted was fast increasing. He ends by concluding that Harvard is being managed like a “luxury-brand”; drawing parallells to how the manufacturer of a high-end sports car wouldn’t want mostly black women to drive around in them, since they would lover the perception of the brand.
Fascinating.
Stian
Stian Håklev October 11, 2005 Toronto, Canada comments powered by Disqus