Office Hours: Six-Day Workweek vs. Four-Day Workweek, The Illusion of College Selectivity, Monitoring Your Substance Use

Application Inflation

The surge in college applications, termed "application inflation," is reshaping the admissions landscape. Scott Galloway highlights that the number of applications through the Common App has risen by 30% over the past three years, leading to a significant drop in acceptance rates, even at schools like NYU, which now has an acceptance rate of just 8% 1. This phenomenon has transformed target schools into reach schools, complicating the admissions process for students and institutions alike.

Colleges love this, as their acceptance percentages are dropping precipitously. The result? Colleges that students used to consider on target are now reach schools.

--- Scott Galloway

Galloway questions whether this trend will lead to lesser-known schools gaining prominence and whether the quality of education is improving alongside this numbers game 1.

   

Prestige vs. Value

The debate between attending elite institutions versus more affordable colleges is crucial, especially for different career paths. Scott Galloway cites studies showing that degrees from selective institutions can lead to a significant increase in lifetime earnings, particularly for business and liberal arts majors 2. However, he criticizes the luxury positioning of elite universities, which prioritize exclusivity over accessibility.

Artificial scarcity. So rather than putting those billions of dollars to work, rather than holding faculty accountable for all these bullshit courses and departments that aren't measurable, how do you measure a leadership center?

--- Scott Galloway

Galloway argues that this approach results in a wealth transfer from middle-class households to universities, questioning the true value of a brand-name degree 3.