This is an idea that I have been grappling with for a long time.
What is the best criteria to measure a university?
Is it research output? Is it the employment rate after graduation? What should a university tackle in order to considered, qualitatively, a ‘good’ university?
When we think of the best universities, here’s the list that usually conjures in our mind:
- Harvard
- Stanford
- MIT
- Princeton
- University of Pennsylvania
When we look closely at the universities, there’s one common thread between all of them: opportunity.
This is an argument that I have long held: choose a university based on which one gives the most opportunities. Opportunity can manifest in several ways:
- Research opportunities: the labs are simply world class. Undergraduates even have the ability to work with Nobel laureates! That’s exciting
- Work opportunities: companies exclusively hire from the university, providing prestigious jobs to a select few, increasing the value of the university
- Social opportunities: you are in the midst of the cream of the cream. In your lecture hall, there are potential world leaders, Hollywood stars, visionary founders and more
I would like to note that it just happens that most Ivy League schools (I wouldn’t say all) are opportunity supernodes. Running a university and developing it as a centre of new opportunity requires a massive investment of resources; it’s a significant barrier for new universities. Ivy Leagues have been fortunate to have a long history, thus allowing them to accrue an enormous wealth to support opportunities like that I have listed above.
Let’s break down the other ways we evaluate universities:
- Cost: this is important, especially for families from a lower socioeconomic background. This should remain high on the list but should not trump opportunity. Firstly, many universities that I would say are ‘opportunity supernodes’ often grant financial aid for those who are from such a background. Second, the long-term benefit of being in an opportunity supernode greatly outweights short-term cost; it will just be incredibly uncomfortable for the next 4 years. I would say this is worth it, as you will recieve opportunities that you never knew existed
- Location: let’s assume that the cost of moving out-of-state or to a different country is subsumed in the previous cost argument . Instead, let’s tackle the issue of whether moving out-of-state is worth it. The answer to this is an obvious yes: moving and travelling are necessary in developing a more faceted personality. Anyways, mobility is on the rise in the workforce and learning how to successfully live a life away from home will be a valuable skill
- Teaching: to be very honest, teaching quality is roughly the same across all universities. Sure, universities like CalTech or MIT can boast of superior professors, but only very few technical universities can use this argument. Given that courseware is freely avaliable anyways, you could simply study off MITs notes (I did that in 1st year electromagnetism). This is a moot reason.
- Interesting programs: One particular program comes to mind - University of Toronto’s Engineering Science. Considered one of the most prestigious engineering programs in Canada and renowned for its insane difficulty, Engineering Science has made itself as an opportunity supernode. Doors open with the sound of Engineering Science and you are elevated compared to your other engineering peers at U of T. I would actually consider this as a subset of my previous argument about opportunity. Programs can also be centers of opportunity too. In fact, I would consider my current degree, Software Engineering, as another example in Canada. Due to its difficulty of admission, it has led to the creation of an opportunity center: jobs are easier to come by and your network’s value increases dramatically.
Well, how do we develop a university that can maxmize opportunity? That’s a problem that I will ponder and hopefully address in the next few months. Here are some quick ideas in the mean time
- Foster industry connections: actively court companies to recruit from your campus
- Create a high selection bar: as a general principle in life - an object’s value increases proportionally to the difficulty of attaining this said object. Some Ivy League schools, like Cornell and Brown are great examples: the value of the school is comparable to many public universities (I would wager many public schools are better than these two Ivy Leagues), yet their low admission rate has made it valuable.
- Recruit from top high schools
- Create world-class research labs and invest heavily into it
By now, it’s clear that the cost of creating such an opportunity supernode is difficult enough. A decentralized model of education, like TKS, is worth investigating.
I think this general principle of chasing opportunity can be extended throughout life. Choose to live in a city with the most opportunity. Work at a company with the most growth potential. Make friends with those who could create cool new opportunities.