Science
...Stately and plump, Harvard Law School admits just 850 to yield a class of 550; for Yale, fewer than 400 admitted brings a svelte class of 170. Ever battling its late entry and the suspectness of a West Coast address -- "newness" coupled with the perception that sunshine vitiates seriousness -- Stanford Law School admitted 435 to make a class of 180 for the class of 1998. For the most part, students admitted to Stanford either go to Stanford, go to Harvard, go to Yale, or don't go to law school. Five-hundred fifty plus 150 plus 180 equals 880. Eight-hundred eighty is just 30 more than 850, which implies that Harvard, which was first, still is first when it comes to circumscribing the legal elite. In other words, if Harvard effectively locates the 850 students who will be divided among itself, Stanford, and Yale, why bother worrying about what Stanford does, who it admits? As this reasoning goes, Harvard has taken care of things. Harvard defines the 850 students, implying that the admissions procedures of the latter two are superfluous -- like so much, parasitic on Harvard. Not so. First, it matters, year to year, for as long as Stanford's and Yale's classes are small and Harvard's is big, who Stanford and Yale reject. Stanford rejects contribute importantly to the School's reputation. Stanford admits 400 compared to Harvard's 800. Assuming considerable overlap in application patterns, many of Harvard's last 400 admitees were likely rejected by Stanford. The perception, widely held, that attendance at Harvard means one could have gone anywhere is false; rejection by Stanford serves as a reminder of the proposition's falseness. The presence of Stanford rejects at Harvard is another way of saying Stanford is good because, as everyone knows, Harvard is good. More broadly, it is possible to play renegade in this game as Stanford apparently did several years ago by...
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