Wilson Quarterly article on Higher Ed Inc.

Wilson Quarterly @ the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars:
Counting everything but its huge endowment holdings, Higher Ed, Inc., is a $250 to $270 billion business—bigger than religion, much bigger than art. And though no one in the business will openly admit it, getting into college is a cinch. The problem, of course, is that too many students want to get into the same handful of nameplate colleges, making it seem that the entire market is tight. It most certainly is not. Here’s the crucial statistic: There are about 2,500 four-year colleges in this country, and only about 100 of them refuse more applicants than they accept. Most schools accept 80 percent or more of those who apply. It’s the rare student who can’t get in somewhere.

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it always amazes me that people keep noting this. it isn’t new, i wrote about the branding of higher education almost two years ago now…. at that time, i thought it was quite old news. just turn on the tv in the u.s. on saturday and see the brands portrayed.