Who pays the bill: Alia Wong on prestige universities around the world

Prestige universities across the globe share many of the features that account for their excellence—“celebrated faculty, groundbreaking research,” and comfortable, well-maintained facilities. There is a huge difference, however, in the source of funding for these institutions; those in the US are overwhelmingly private schools, while prestige universities in the rest of the world tend to be publicly funded. Alia Wong, education writer for the Atlantic, discusses some of these contrasts in this September 2018 essay.

Wong, “At private colleges, students pay for prestige”

1. Although she never states it directly, what is Wong’s principal criticism of US higher education? Summarize her main point. Do you agree? Why or why not?
2. Wong herself acknowledges that rankings “have their flaws.” How well does she inform readers of her sources of information and the sources’ credentials and approaches? Why do you think so? Point to specific passages to support your conclusions.
3. Wong relies heavily on the views and information provided by Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Educationinternational rankings. How well does Wong distinguish his words from her own? Why do you think so? Consult Chapters 2 and 3 of your text to help you reach a conclusion. Point to specific passages that support your response.
4. How much do you know about how your school is funded? How much of the annual operating budget comes from tuition and fees? How has that proportion changed over the last ten years? (This information should be available to you with a little digging; ask a librarian for help if you need to.) Are you satisfied with the current situation? Why or why not? Write an essay explaining your position and arguing for any specific changes you’d like your school to work towards.

Comments

[Heather Mitchell]

I say...

[Mackenzie]

I believe the U.S higher education system is very corrupt, and only centered around money and the idea of having money. Especially prestigious Universities, that cater to only the rich. In this country you almost have to go to college to be successful, and they make it super hard to accomplish.

[michael]

I believe that it is wrong that top-tier colleges get as much funding as they do and lower level colleges are forced to use outdated material and the students are the one who pays the price. I also believe that is unfair that private colleges get more advantages than the public colleges do, it's too expensive for some people to afford to go to a good private college. Even as far back as the 1600's Christian colleges ruled the land and still cost an arm an a leg to get into. While the gap between public and private was always big it has gotten worse over the years where it yale is somewhere around 70k a year and Oxford is only 12k a year.

[Dick McBiscuit]

Boy lemme you tell you something, y'all dumbasses don't understand taxes and y'all just some commie fucks.

[Mia Davidson]

I believe the gap between tuition costs for private vs public universities is ridiculous and making money more important than peoples educations.

[Belen Charnichart]

The US has made it hard to get jobs with just bachelors and we have to continue our education for everyone has a bachelor. The US favors those colleges that gain recognition for being prestige and makes it very hard with them only being focused on money. The prestigious universities favors those who are worth sending one or those who can afford to be allowed into the school.

[Lucas Salerno]

Wong's principal criticism of the United States Higher Education is that the private schools are gaining the most money off of accomplishments and creating a huge gap in America. These private universities cost extremely high prices to attend and often time are not feasible for many average income American families. While this may seem apparent, I disagree with the thought because the private universities are more able to give scholarships to the students who are in need. Also, the public schools are now gaining recognition like the private schools within states. This is highly evident in the SUNY system and the UC system, both have highly accredited universities that are on the rise and at miniscule prices. In my opinion, Wong just states that there are flaws in the system and does not give specific examples in depth. The examples he gives are deceivingly shallow and don't give to much depth about how the school is flawed. The best example is listing the prices of the schools and when she claims that the surveys were based off of the esteem of research and teaching. I don't believe that Wong distinguishes her word from Phil Baty's, she often just states what he says and doesn't explain. The problem with this is her work doesn't end up showing what she believes, instead it is more his thoughts. An example is when she quotes one of his statistics without prior explanation and then just changes topics immediately after. I am not very aware of how my school is using its budget, but I am aware that a lot of it is going towards growing the school immensely. I go to a midsize private university on Long Island that in the past ten years alone has gone through immense changes and only more is coming.

[David K]

There is a huge gap between cost of college between private schooling and public. A lot of people who want to go to private schools cant afford it. Theres an illusion that you need to go to a top pristine college to get a great job, but most college degrees will work as long as your are educated in your field. Many people that are successful didn't go to the best school or even finish. The ranking system needs to be changed and costs need to be lowered.

[Jennifer Rosales]

I think is wrong for universities to be based mainly on financial matters. Univerities should focus on providing quality education to all students no matter if it's on private schools or public. All students should be able to obtain the best quality education no matter which school they go to to. Their should be more funding programs going to the education system in the United States because everyone should be able to have the opportunity to receive quality education without having to worry about the high cost.

[Abby McKinley]

I believe that private universities of America keep raising their tuition to keep up a certain reputation, to keep their school exclusive in a sense. They only want the best of the best students to attend these prestigious universities, and every other student can attend the public schools and community colleges. This is an issue because many students can barely afford public college, let alone private college. And in this day and age, students need more than just a bachelor's degree to get a decent paying job. It is very unfair how in America, you get what you pay for when it comes to education. In state public colleges, they cut a lot of courses and faculty due to limited government funding.

[Kennedy]

Wong never comes out and directly states her criticism of the American higher education system but through her writing, we can see clearly that she believes private institutions are capitalizing off of their prestige. These prestigious Ivy League colleges are able to have such high admissions and tuition costs because they know that students are going to pay these outrageous costs, simply for being able to write on their resumes that they graduated from there. Public colleges aren't receiving the same amounts of money that these top universities are because they don't have the same prestige and therefore don't attract as many students. I agree with Wong in that I think the prices we are paying for in order to get an education, one that is almost necessary to have in this country if one wishes to get a good paying job, are outrageous. Why should I have to pay 70k a year just to get an education that I will need in order to get a job to support myself? It's not just a private college problem either, as even public colleges are ridiculously priced and I think that is another one of Wong's criticisms of the US higher education system.

[Elmira A.]

The gap between private and public colleges is huge. Granted, when we hear the names like Harvard or Stanford we automatically assume that the person who attended and graduated from either of those is at least to say an intelligent individual. But what about smart undergrads who are great and dedicated candidates but cannot afford a half of the cost of a top rated college? While the cost of "prestige" American colleges may be justified, the government is not really capable of funding public colleges either, which, in my opinion, should be a center of attention, as the percentage of people who are more likely to attend community colleges and such is greater than those who can afford tuition at Stanford.
Also, does the "prestige" of top rated and very expensive colleges imply any guarantee in the future, like a solid career? Students who graduate from public colleges often end up in dept for next 10 or more years. So imagine how much should a person invest in order to graduate and stay capable of making a living after.
The educational system of the U.S. seems corrupt and broken as it requires lots of money in order to be able to make lots of money. It's a vicious cycle with a dead end. The government should pay more attention to public colleges and, most importantly, a quality of education, for ultimately intelligent people are what makes any country or government stand a chance to compete and make a profit.

[Marvin Ramos]

In the article “At Private Colleges, Students Pay for Prestige”, Alia Wong indicates that the US’s prestigious colleges tend to be private and have high price tags while government funded public schools tend to lack prestige, unlike European colleges and universities. This, she argues, creates a gap between private and public education that hurt students that cannot afford to attend a prestigious college or university, creating an unfair environment in education. However, Wong does admit that a significant portion of students attending private institutions do indeed receive financial help that pays for a big part of their costs. Wong concludes that due to prestigious colleges not being funded by government, private colleges are continuing to increase their prices to high levels.
Though I agree with Wong in that private colleges are consist a big part of the top prestigious American colleges and that their prices are high, I differ in what makes private, and also public, colleges unfair for those that cannot afford it and I also disagree that private education is increasing in cost because it is not funded by the government. Wong argues that private education is unfair because it costs too much, though I concede that what she is arguing is true, I believe it to be more complicated. The reason private, and public in some instances, education is unfair is due to theirs prices discouraging students from attending if they do not have financial aid, favoring students that could afford professional tutoring to receive higher scores, and putting students that were not able to afford a private high school education which better equips students in comparison to its public counterpart. Although some readers may object that financial aid offers an opportunity for the less privileged to be on par with their better off peers, I would respond by conceding solely if their argument is in respect to those students that did not use costly resources, like tutoring and private high school education, that many unprivileged students have no access to financially, which also makes them unequipped in comparison to their peers to be successful in admissions for prestigious colleges. My disagreement with Wong’s statements that private education is increasing in costs because it is not funded by the government comes from the fact that public education is also increasing their prices, and one of the reasons being that the government is financially helping students which in turn motivates colleges to increase their prices as more students can afford it and create demand.

[Maya Sanchez]

I believe that the gap between private schools and public schools is unnecessary and more public universities should be given the same funding that private schools receive. When thinking of private school, most immediately think about how there are smart young adults going to this school to advance their educational career. The next thought is the cost and how much students pay to attend these private universities. Private schools are always young students' dreams but are crushed when reality sets in. Sometimes it is unattainable to some students because of the cost. Private schools charge their students thousands of dollars to attend just for one year. Public schools however are more affordable and attainable yet they are not seen as prestigious as a private school. There is a stigma surrounding public schools and especially community colleges that they are not distinguished enough for students to attend and should not be an option. Yet, public schools provide the same classes as private schools but are overlooked. Private schools just receive more money than public schools making them look superior to public universities. In “At Private Colleges, Students Pay for Prestige” Alia Wong writes, “ In 2016, 65 percent of U.S. freshmen said reputation was “very important” when it came to selecting a college.” Most private universities profit off their students for their prestigious school and win them over in that way. Students are willing to pay more so that their diploma says it is from a private school and not a public school. The United State’s higher education should be affordable to all people so that it is attainable to anybody to get a degree. Almost every career path requires a bachelors or masters degree and with high costs to get them, some who cannot afford it luck out. Education should be made available to everyone and the costs of schools should be affordable price.