In his book, David and Goliath1, journalist Malcolm Gladwell discusses the downside of attending an elite university. Citing the case of Caroline Sacks, he asserts that she suffered from “little fish in a big pond syndrome.” Caroline had excellent grades in science and had to choose between enrolling in science at the University of Maryland or Harvard. She chose Harvard because she felt its degree would carry more prestige. However, in her course in organic chemistry, she was intimidated by the quality of the other students who seemed to grasp concepts more quickly than she. Eventually, she dropped out of science, the subject that had been the love of her life. She subsequently admitted that if she had chosen the University of Maryland instead, she would have been a bigger fish in a smaller pond and would still be in science.
Others argue that attending a prestigious university not only brings prestige, but it drops a person into a highly competitive environment that can stimulate motivation to work hard and achieve. In his post, Charles S. shares the results of his choice of the University of California at Santa Barbara over the University of Nevada at Los Vegas. https://qr.ae/pygm0i
Reference: Gladwell, Malcolm. (2013). David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. New York: Little, Brown and Company. p. 63ff.
