Wooster's Value Touted in New York Times Article

WOOSTER, Ohio - Wooster's reputation as one of higher education's hidden treasures was affirmed once again on Sunday (July 30) in a New York Times article, titled "Off the Beaten Path." Reporter Randal C. Archibold, with input from 12 higher education experts and counselors, compiled a list of 19 colleges that "stress undergraduate teaching, have established or rising scholarship... and represent just a small sample of America's riches."

Archibold and his consultants suggested that students and their parents should "pay less attention to prestige and more to 'fit,'" which he described as "the marriage of interests and comfort level with factors like campus size, access to professors, and instruction philosophy." Archibold went on to say that "in their caliber of undergraduate teaching, (these) lesser-known campuses...are on equal or near-equal footing with brand-name universities, and in some ways are more three-dimensional."

Lee S. Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was quoted in the article as saying, "My view is that there is a very modest to zero correlation between general academic prestige and the quality of undergraduate experience available to students. Those seeking hidden gems are very wise, especially if they are committed to coming to a campus and becoming very active students, taking advantage of faculty office hours, undergrad research experiences, and the like."

The article also noted that the link to prestige and subsequent higher earnings in the workplace is overstated, citing a 1999 study by Alan B. Krueger of Princeton and Stacy Dale of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which found that students who were admitted to both selective and moderately selective colleges earned the same no matter which they attended. The study suggested that the motivation and drive of the student mattered more than the college.

Wooster, which was joined on the list by Kenyon and Earlham among others, was touted for its Independent Study program and its commitment to developing students who think critically. To read the entire article, click here