i just read the article. imo, the survey questions strongly biased the results.
the structured questionnaire asked, why did you choose your school over others? so, the respondents were guided to say how their school was better.
certainly, if you ask me, "why did you choose yale for undergrad?' i will tell you all that's great about yale. if you ask me instead a more neutral question, "how do you think you would have fared at another school," i would say, gee, if i'd been brave enough to go across the country to stanford at age 17, i might have had a amazing time. and, if i'd gone to a smaller school like amherst, williams, or swarthmore, i might have connected more with professors.
the structured questionnaire asked, why did you choose your school over others? so, the respondents were guided to say how their school was better.
certainly, if you ask me, "why did you choose yale for undergrad?' i will tell you all that's great about yale. if you ask me instead a more neutral question, "how do you think you would have fared at another school," i would say, gee, if i'd been brave enough to go across the country to stanford at age 17, i might have had a amazing time. and, if i'd gone to a smaller school like amherst, williams, or swarthmore, i might have connected more with professors.