Nice Kid, but...

This story about a kid with a perfect SAT, community service, National Honor Society, blah blah blah, yet still wasn't accepted into Harvard, MIT, or Rice, is interesting, but not for the reasons the author intended. I find this obsession with crafting the perfect college application to be downright creepy. Kids are transferring schools to make sure they can finish in the Top 10, and parents are spending thousands on $100 an hour college application consultants.

With the continued expansion of the network economy, and more and more career fields being entrepreneurial in nature, I personally believe the 4 year degree is quickly approaching its jump the shark moment. I don't think you'll see GenX parents stressing over junior getting into Harvard. I'm certainly not that worried about it. Really, the education at Harvard or MIT isn't that much better then the education at a top ranked state school. The real value of a Harvard or MIT degree is the membership in the alumni association. It's been my experience that alumni from the so-called elite schools take care of each other throughout their careers.