Tag Archive for 'Gregory Mankiw'

The Importance of “Undergraduate Education”

This weekend, I was dragged along by my friend Van to a birthday party at MIT. I got into a discussion with a nice bloke there, and I, of course, had to ask the ultimate question of self-absorbed Ivy League-ers: So, what brought you to MIT?

His immediate response was: The Quality of the Undergraduate Education.

I think my immediate response was some sort of confused look. Education? What is this thing called “education” that brings one to a particular college? Maybe it’s me, but from an informal polling amongst my friends, The Quality of the Undergraduate Education does not seem to be among the list of reasons of why YOU should go to Harvard.

What is the correct response to: So, what brought you to Harvard?

Besides, the satirical “because it’s Harvard,” the appropriate response is: The People.

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