More Higher Ed

well, to keep the discussion on higher ed in america going, let me refer to this article in the new york times discussing the widening differences in endowments in universities across the country. harvard has an endowment of around 35 billion dollars, but - as this article states - fewer than 400 of the 4500 universities in the country have an endowment over 100 million dollars, and most have less than 10 million. (for the record, dartmouth's present endowment is around 4 billion, which is around what harvard's endowment was in 1990.) harvard recently announced that they would be offering financial aid to students whose family incomes were up to $180,000 a year (an incredible plan), whereas most universities struggle to provide financial aid to students with family incomes significantly lower than that. so, essentially, if you're brilliant you are set, but if you are an average, hard-working student you'll most likely have to face significant debt for the rest of your life just to get a college education. sound fair? yeah, not really.