Harvard Hoops Recruiting Questioned

Protests spread across Ivy League campuses

(NEWSER) - Half of those surveyed in Harvard's class of 2010 went into finance or consulting; at the University of Pennsylvania, the figure was even higher—and some students are fed up with the "brain drain." Inspired in part by the Occupy movement, students have launched protests against recruiting by big banks, consulting firms, and hedge funds at top universities ranging from Princeton to Stanford, NPR reports. "You've got 20% to 30% of some of the top talent in this country going into a sector that is not necessarily contributing to economic and social productivity," says movement leader Teryn Norris. More»

(NEWSER) - The Ivy League has a reputation for excellence in all things, but the consignment of its sports programs—particularly the more visible ones like football and basketball—to college athletics’ second tier has alumni clamoring for change, the Wall Street Journal reports. Academic standards limit the pool of top student-athletes for the eight Ivy schools; the football teams can’t play in the postseason, nixing their title chances. More»

Elite universities profit from acting interested in unqualified students

(NEWSER) - Ivy League schools cram high school students' mailboxes full with glossy recruitment packages, only to greet them weeks later with far less appealing rejection letters. Critics say elite universities like Harvard and Columbia set up potential applicants for disappointment by wooing them with pamphlets, posters, and promise, pocketing hefty application fees of up to $90 from students who have little chance of actually getting accepted, Bloomberg reports. More»

Oh, yeah, and actually show up for work

(NEWSER) - Get ready for the real world, Harvard seniors: You're actually going to have to show up for work, and you're—whoah!—going to have to clean your own bathroom. Who knew the world could be so harsh? But that's the straight dope from one of Harvard's own recent graduates, Brian J. Bolduc, who gets real in a guest column in the Crimson . It's going to be a reality baptism, and "the water is cold and unforgiving," he warns. More»

Giving to 'Affirmative Action for Rich' is 'moral crime,' writes Hamilton Nolan

(NEWSER) - Gawker's Hamilton Nolan is scrambling onto the anti-Ivy League bandwagon by slamming donations to the elitist institutions as "loathsome" and a "moral crime." The schools "are terrible choices for huge donations. Supporting education is a worthy cause; but there are many, many more effective ways to help the masses than giving millions to Ivy League schools. No matter what those schools' endowment officers tell you, they do not really 'need,' that money," stews Nolan. Furthermore, most donors are not seeking to improve education; "they give in order to make it easier for their own children to get into those schools," he adds. More»