So, Malia is going to Cambridge after a gap year off. Harvard is after all, her mother’s and father’s alma mater, along with Columbia and Princeton University. By every measure, it is an outstanding school, although ranking second to its orange & black counterpart in central New Jersey, according the U.S. News National University Rankings for 2016.
Malia’s parents shared some curious advice on how young people should choose a university. The president told a group of high-schoolers in September, “Just because it’s not some name-brand, famous, fancy school doesn’t mean that you’re not going to get a great education there.” And Michelle Obama told the editors of Seventeen magazine in an article published in April: “The one thing I’ve been telling my daughters is that I don’t want them to choose a name”.
Don’t choose a name? Really?
This is usually the sort of sour grapes foolishness spouted by ivy league wannabes who didn’t make the cut. As the acceptance rate for top ivies drop to single digits, the ranks of these disgruntled rejects are growing. Princeton accepted 6.5%, Yale 6.3%, and Harvard 5.2% of applicants this year. To suggest that a college’s name doesn’t matter falls into the same self-delusional space reserved for the “everyone is a winner” crowd. It’s unlikely that Mr. & Mrs. O would embrace their daughter’s choice if it was Bronx Community College.
The name or reputation of an institution of higher education is probably the best measure of the quality of a school, along with the number of Rhodes Scholars, Supreme Court justices, and presidents that the school has produced. Of course, a great education can be had at any number of schools, and some campuses are better suited to some students than others, but if going to a “name-brand, famous, fancy school” is an option, it’s essentially always wise to take it. Off-brand can be economical and prudent when shopping for paper towels and laundry detergent, but one’s alma mater remains an indelible part of one’s personal architecture, and for a lifetime provides personal credibility before it can be established in person.
In fact, Malia Obama is one of the few teenagers in the world, along with 18 year old Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who doesn’t need an academic trump card to pre-establish their worth. Her last name will always give her gravitas. And even Malia is taking no chances and has chosen wisely to go Crimson.
Joining the coalition of academic elites assures perpetual connectivity to people and opportunities that are desirable professionally and personally. Where did Chelsea Clinton meet her husband, Marc Mezvinsky? Stanford University. Her parents met at Yale University. Where did Prince William meet Kate Middleton? The University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan… Harvard. A smart young woman like Malia will likely find her life partner in a place that attracts people with the same commitment to excellence that her parents instilled in her.
Surely Malia’s academic record and extracurricular activities factored heavily in her favorable college admission decisions, but so did the fact that her last name is Obama.
What’s in a name? A great deal.
Susan Patton, also known as “The Princeton Mom,” is a frequent television commentator on social issues. She writes for Heat Street and is the author of Marry Smart, Advice for Finding the One.
