Research paper

Works Cited

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Caroline Sacks." David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. New York: Little Brown, 2013. 63-96. Print.

The Big Pond which is elite institutions take very bright students and end up demoralizing them, that is the information being provided by Malcolm Gladwell in his analogy of Caroline Sacks. In this book David and Goliath, he states that it is worth being a small fish in a small pond rather than being a big fish in a big pond. It is evident that big fish will eventually move to a bigger pond rather than a small fish that is being overshadowed by big fishes. What he puts across is that students who are regarded as smart end up suffering from relative deprivation, which is a distorted reality.

Guo, Philip. "The Advantages of Attending a Prestigious Name-brand University." Philip Guo -. 2015. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://pgbovine.net/advantages-of-name-brand-school.htm>.

This author understands that there is an advantage for any student who attends a prestigious branded university. In his article, he gives examples of such institutions as involving Stanford University, MIT and Harvard University. The important argument that he provides is that having a diploma from one of the prestigious universities will provide one with an opportunity to get job offers from big companies and gain initial formal respect from the superiors. But this author also contends that as one grows older they should realize that relationship with people is much more important than having a degree from one of the most prestigious institutions. This one important article will act as my counter argument against the main thesis

Leonhardt, David. "Revisiting the Value of Elite Colleges." Economix Revisiting the Value of Elite Colleges Comments. Economix, 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/revisiting-the-value-of-elite-colleges/>.

This author is making an allusion to the work of economists Alan Krueger and Stacy Dale in revisiting the impact of prestigious institutions to an individual student. The research, which was carried out by the two economists, has been revisited and this time round it has more data and information as to why elite institutions are not effective for students. This author has importantly been able to bring in the research work by the two economists which take into consideration the fact that students from the elite colleges earn more than those from ‘normal’ institutions. What has been used in this study is majorly the SAT score that has been posted by each student under study.

Long, Katherine. "'Big Fan' of State Universities Says Elite Schools Don't Ensure Success." The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times, 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/big-fan-of-state-universities-says-elite-schools-dont-ensure-success/>.

Ms Long is a higher education reporter with Seattle Times and in this paper she is writing on assertions provided by New York Times opinion writer Frank Bruni. In this article Borini offers insight into how one can get the most out of a large public university in this case being referred to as elite institution. Frank Borini understands that where one goes will not determine what they become eventually. In this article Borini talks to Long on means through which students can take advantage of the institution that they are in and not to rely on the general understanding that getting admission into an elite college is a sure way to success.

Steinberg, Jacques. "Is Going to an Elite College Worth the Cost?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/weekinreview/19steinberg.html>.

This article asks several questions related to whether expensive elite colleges and Universities make a difference in life of the graduates. The main idea is that students must be able to find their own rainbow, something which most of the parents and students never understand, they believe that it is upon the institution that they have attended to shine a light on their lives and careers. This author is stating contrary facts to those provided by most analysts who make use of SAT Score and College rejection rates.