[Hulk01]

I think there are gifted people who will thrive on their gifts, which hardly need nurturing.  I think of the first girl I kissed: Susan Durette.  She was wise at age 12.  She still is; my best friend marvels at her.  And if Susan finished college, it wasn't one to which we bow.

My best friend at Stanford, John Tillman, was so far ahead of the game that the only impact Stanford may have had on him was to ensure the Rhodes people that he deserved their scholarship.  I might ask him soon, Did Stanford change you, and has it influenced your life since?  I suspect the answer is either no, or damn little.

An added point: my work draws heavily on my education at Stanford.  I often find myself applying something I learned there.  That would not have been the case if I had continued practicing law. 

And an important point for me, is that I would not have met Stephanie but-for Stanford.  We connected only because of that common bond.  And she has had an enormous impact on me, for the much better.

So I think I am the very extreme case, perhaps the outlier.  I should resist speaking for everyone. But at the same time, I've experienced some first hand three very ordinary universities.  There seem to be many schools whose mission is to attract students rather than educate them.  And on a related point, I have never met a graduate of these schools who speak well of their experiences, or speak at all of some lasting impact from attending those schools.  That seems telling.

[Hulk01]

I think there are gifted people who will thrive on their gifts, which hardly need nurturing.  I think of the first girl I kissed: Susan Durette.  She was wise at age 12.  She still is; my best friend marvels at her.  And if Susan finished college, it wasn't one to which we bow.

My best friend at Stanford, John Tillman, was so far ahead of the game that the only impact Stanford may have had on him was to ensure the Rhodes people that he deserved their scholarship.  I might ask him soon, Did Stanford change you, and has it influenced your life since?  I suspect the answer is either no, or damn little.

An added point: my work draws heavily on my education at Stanford.  I often find myself applying something I learned there.  That would not have been the case if I had continued practicing law. 

And an important point for me, is that I would not have met Stephanie but-for Stanford.  We connected only because of that common bond.  And she has had an enormous impact on me, for the much better.

So I think I am the very extreme case, perhaps the outlier.  I should resist speaking for everyone. But at the same time, I've experienced some first hand three very ordinary universities.  There seem to be many schools whose mission is to attract students rather than educate them.  And on a related point, I have never met a graduate of these schools who speak well of their experiences, or speak at all of some lasting impact from attending those schools.  That seems telling.