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I'm reminded now of something that Bill Gates said: universities like Harvard or MIT shouldn't be lauded for churning out smart people... who were already smart before they entered Harvard, we should instead be lauding institutions that admit everyday folks from tough backgrounds that then turn them into smart and able people. In that spirit it is strange that the article goes to great pains to emphasize how "elite" this new university will be, and how 'admission requirements will be "extraordinarily high."' So, to sound not so negative here: I hope this experiment succeeds, but we should be focusing on where real and big problems lie: education for the masses, at affordable prices.

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The value of great institutions lies not merely in education, but in bringing great people together. Simply attracting already smart people (or determined and otherwise talented people) is a value in and of itself.

We have those and they're generally free. We call them "social clubs" and "mixers". Heck, Mensa is basically a social club for smart folk.

well, yeah, but in a college, you're not just brought together to be in some sort of self-primping club, but you also do things like "work collaboratively on projects" and "pursue a guided learning track".

Robin Hanson and Tyler Cowen have had a lot of interesting discussions on the role and extent of "signalling" in higher education. I think Hanson takes the extreme view that it is mostly signalling, rather than skills (human capital).

Obviously we see that at some level. "He's a college man" doesn't have the cache it did in 1920.

    > we should be focusing on where real and big problems 
    > lie: education for the masses, at affordable prices.

You might be interested to read about the Cristo Rey school network — a group of highschools aimed at exactly that. A buddy of mine is working at the Philly one this summer which is why I've heard of it. Here's the history page: http://www.cristoreynetwork.org/page.cfm?p=367

I agree but in the same way that the original elite Facebook paved the way for today's Facebook behemoth, I imagine a successful elite e-stitution (c) will legitimize the concept, which will pave the way for something with more universal appeal.

>who were already smart

Getting into harvard has very little to do with smarts and has everything to do with the circumstances you were born into.

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