If you have sky-scraping dreams of attending an Ivy League university, maybe reconsider, according to author Malcolm Gladwell.
“If you want to get a science and math degree, don’t go to Harvard,” Gladwell said in a Google Zeitgeist talk in 2019.
Gladwell clarified in a recent episode of the Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know podcast the risk of applying for Harvard University to pursue a STEM degree is fine if you’re able to compete with the top students in your major. But for many students, matriculating at an elite institution means flailing, increasing the risk of dropping out and finding a dream job.
“If you’re interested in succeeding in an educational institution, you never want to be in the bottom half of your class. It’s too hard,” Gladwell told podcast host Minhaj. “So you should go to Harvard if you think you can be in the top quarter of your class at Harvard. That’s fine. But don’t go there if you’re going to be at the bottom of class. Doing STEM? You’re just gonna drop out.”
Gladwell instead encourages prospective college students to pick their second or third choice school, somewhere they have a shot at being at the top of their class.
