Gladwell’s David and Goliath discusses failure stories from top colleges in America. Some students who attend top schools can be worse off than if they had attended a school that was easier and less expensive. But it would be wrong to conclude that the easier school is always the best.
Attending the best school possible may be a student’s attempt to see what his school can do for him, rather than what he can do for his school. There are two types of people: “lifters” and “leaners”. We may be more likely to soar in environments where we can “lift”.