Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be audiobook cover - An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania

Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be

An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania

Frank Bruni

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Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be
The Myth of Elite Colleges+
The Manufactured Admissions Crisis+
The Flaws of College Rankings+
The Drawbacks of Elite Schools+
What Actually Drives Success+
Actionable Advice+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
What does the data regarding Fortune 500 CEOs reveal about the necessity of an Ivy League education?
  • A. Over 80 percent of top CEOs attended Ivy League schools.
  • B. Only 30 percent of US-born CEOs at top 100 companies attended Ivy League schools.
  • C. Ivy League graduates are entirely absent from the top 10 Fortune 500 companies.
  • D. CEOs from Ivy League schools consistently earn higher profits than non-Ivy CEOs.
Question 2 of 8
According to former admissions dean Ted O’Neill, why have acceptance rates at elite universities dropped to record lows?
  • A. High schools are producing significantly smarter students, forcing colleges to raise their academic standards.
  • B. Universities are intentionally attracting huge numbers of applicants to lower their acceptance rates and boost their rankings.
  • C. Government regulations have capped the number of students that elite universities can legally enroll.
  • D. The rise of expensive college prep courses has made it impossible to distinguish between average and exceptional students.
Question 3 of 8
Why does former Yale dean Jeffrey Brenzel consider college rankings like the US News & World Report to be harmful?
  • A. They place too much emphasis on job placement and international opportunities rather than academics.
  • B. They heavily favor public universities over private Ivy League institutions.
  • C. They rely on unscientific criteria like wealth and subjective reputation rather than the quality of education.
  • D. They frequently change their criteria, making it impossible for students to predict which school is actually the best.
Question 4 of 8
According to a 2013 poll of college graduates, what behavior during college was the most significant factor in boosting a person's contentment later in life?
  • A. Earning a GPA of 3.8 or higher in a STEM-related major.
  • B. Dabbling in a wide variety of extracurricular activities to build a diverse resumé.
  • C. Securing a high-paying internship during the summer of their junior year.
  • D. Being deeply and actively involved in a single campus group or activity.
Question 5 of 8
What is the 'funnel effect' observed among undergraduates at elite schools like Harvard?
  • A. The tendency for students to enter with diverse interests but eventually narrow their career options to a few high-paying fields like consulting.
  • B. The process by which universities filter out lower-income applicants during the final stages of the admissions process.
  • C. A teaching method that forces students to focus exclusively on one major from their freshman year onward.
  • D. The phenomenon where students start with high grades that gradually drop as coursework becomes more difficult.
Question 6 of 8
What did Yale graduate Rebecca Fabbro discover when she researched her school's financial aid data regarding socioeconomic diversity?
  • A. The university provided equal financial aid to students from all income brackets.
  • B. Around 50 percent of Yale’s student body comes from the wealthiest 5 percent of the United States.
  • C. The majority of students at Yale relied entirely on federal student loans to afford tuition.
  • D. Yale had the highest percentage of first-generation college students among all Ivy League schools.
Question 7 of 8
How has the primary motivation for attending college shifted among incoming freshmen from the mid-1960s to 2014?
  • A. Students have shifted from wanting to discover a meaningful life philosophy to primarily attending college to make money.
  • B. Students have shifted from focusing on career training to prioritizing a well-rounded liberal arts education.
  • C. Students have shifted from wanting to stay close to home to desiring international travel and study abroad programs.
  • D. Students have shifted from pursuing entrepreneurial ventures to seeking stable jobs in government and academia.
Question 8 of 8
According to the book, what is a primary advantage of attending a smaller, less elite college over a highly prestigious one?
  • A. Smaller colleges offer guaranteed job placement in Fortune 500 companies upon graduation.
  • B. Smaller colleges automatically grant students higher GPAs to help them compete with Ivy League graduates.
  • C. Smaller colleges often provide a personal touch that fosters curiosity, creativity, and direct mentorship from professors.
  • D. Smaller colleges are completely immune to the bias of legacy admissions.

Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be — Full Chapter Overview

Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be Summary & Overview

Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be (2015) casts a critical eye over the mania surrounding the college admissions process in the United States. For decades, students and parents have become increasingly convinced that future success is dependent upon landing a spot at the most prestigious schools, while colleges have become engaged in their own competition for a spot at the top of the school rankings. Bruni argues that this has led to an out-of-control system that has caused people to lose sight of the real benefits of higher education.

Who Should Listen to Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be?

  • Prospective college students
  • Scholars who care about the state of higher education
  • Parents who want their kids to flourish in college

About the Author: Frank Bruni

Frank Bruni has been a long-time contributor for the New York Times, having been the paper’s chief restaurant critic from 2004 to 2009 as well as an op-ed columnist. His other books include the bestsellers Born Round (2009) and Ambling Into History (2002).

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