Good colleges or just elite colleges?

If you ask anyone for a list of good colleges or universities, you can predict what will be on their list. Most lists include colleges featuring in the popular top-ranking systems used in various regions and most of these colleges will have extremely low acceptance rates, less than 10%, some even less than 5%, that is, these institutions reject most students that apply to them. At the same time, there are colleges that accept most people who apply to them. Recently I heard a TED talk by Cecilia M. Orphan, that was about what makes a good college. She made a very excellent point that got me thinking, why colleges reject most of the students who apply to them are considered good colleges, and colleges that accept most of the students, give the opportunity to students to get a college education that none of these so-called good colleges offer, are not included in the list of good colleges of many people. She rightly flags our skewed perception. The perception we all have developed through relentless advertising and deeply flawed college ranking systems. 

Why do we think that colleges that only select top-ranked students, the students that can go anywhere and excel or students who have resources and privilege to attend any college are considered good colleges; but colleges that give opportunities to all students that may not get an opportunity to attend a college or get a college degree unless admitted to that state or regional state university are not in the list of good colleges? Honestly, in the US, I fell in love with every educational institute I visited, the infrastructure and campus just blew me away, since then I had a dream to attend a US educational institution as a student and I fulfilled that dream when I attended UConn Law School for the JD program. Celilia's talk raises another great point about already super-rich institutions getting more grants and growing their endowments in the billions of dollars, whereas other colleges provide educational opportunities to many more deserving students struggling to balance their budgets. Most donations and grants flow to institutions that already have enough money to support their programs, this inequality gets worse over time and the result is rich colleges getting richer whereas colleges with less money keep on struggling for funds. Both, raise tuition, but the tuition raised by colleges that need funds to balance their budgets affects more students and creates a bigger uproar compared to tuition raised by rich colleges. 

The point of this post is not to say that colleges that consistently feature on top in various college ranking systems are not good. They are good institutions and there are good reasons why they score high in most ranking systems, but many more colleges are doing a much more difficult job and serving a much wider student community that needs the same amount of recognition and support. Craving for a luxury brand is not a bad thing. Even in education, there are luxury brands, and parents and students do crave these brands and are willing to do whatever it takes to get into these branded institutions. However, there are many other brands that are more inclusive and diverse that need to be recognized for what they do best, which is to provide educational opportunities to many underprivileged and struggling students who may have to drop out without this opportunity. Public universities, regional public schools, and many small colleges are doing this great work, they are serving much larger and more diverse communities and as a society, we need to appreciate and value this. We all can show this appreciation by supporting them financially, by giving money where it's needed most and can have a wider effect. Let's redefine what makes a good college.      

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

©Vinay Thakur,  Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com   

Empty nest?

Both my kids are in college now. Graduating from high school and going to college is a milestone in every student's life. The student and their parents give their best to achieve this moment. Going to college is an emotional moment for parents, they are happy to see their child graduate from high school and also a little sad because most kids leave their homes to attend the college of their choice, hence the metaphor of the "empty nest." Nests and homes have something in common, both are places where families live. Generally, nests are built to protect the eggs and newborn birds until they can fly on their own and feed themselves. However, there is one significant difference. Homes are not temporary residences, of course, people move and change their homes, but this is just a shift from one home to another. But the nests cease to be useful for birds once the newborn birds learn to fly and feed themselves. This is why I feel the metaphor of an empty nest makes sense but doesn't show the complete picture. Hence the question mark in the title.

Every phase of life changes the dynamics of our relationships. Every relationship, for example, between child and parent, friends, spouses, our surroundings, or our colleagues changes over time. Kids start their lives completely dependent on their parents or guardians, but slowly they get independent and pursue their own journeys. Parents are supposed to facilitate this process, but the journey has to be the kids' own. Unfortunately, not many parents are brave enough to allow their kids that free choice. Most instill them with their fears and insecurities, force their religious and political values, brainwash them with their cultural and social biases and prejudices, pass on their own stereotypes, and worst, use them as vehicles to fulfill their own unfulfilled dreams and expectations. Even after all this, every parent-child relationship is special in its own way as most parents do these things thinking that they are doing good for their child. 

When kids graduate high school, they are supposed to embark on their own journey. This journey is supposed to be special as they will be living out of their homes for the first time. In the US most colleges require living on campus for at least part of their four years of college as they believe that living separately from parents is a part of a student's growth. I did not get to do this, I lived with my parents until I left for the US to pursue my postdoctoral work. It had its own pros and cons. I never got to live an independent life outside the shadow of my parents until my late twenties, whereas most kids in the US start doing this in their teens, at the age of 18 or 19. Now back to the empty nest metaphor. Even though it is a beautiful metaphor, our homes don't get empty, my kids are very much part of our home, even though they stay 8-9 months of the year on campus and are busy with their friends during their vacations. So, the nest is not really empty, just relationship dynamics have changed, we have entered a different phase and it has its own charm and fun. 

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com