Cream of the crop : the impact of elite education in the decade after college /

An informative, well-reasoned, and objective follow-up study of the educational elite members of the "tail of the baby boomers," this volume focuses on their professional careers, workplace experiences, personal lives, and reflections ten years after their undergraduate days. It is an excellent contribution to our understanding of the societal role of great educational institutions and how they impact their graduates. A collaborator in the 1985 precursor of this volume, Careerism and Intellectualism among College Students, Katchadourian (psychiatry, behavioral sciences, and human biology, Stanford Univ.) and Boli (sociology, Emory Univ.) continue their longitudinal study with this ten year follow-up examination of the outcomes of elite education. Extensive questionnaire and intensive interview data obtained in 1990-91 from a sample of 1981 Stanford graduates show that overall, the different orientations these undergraduates took-- "Careerists," "Intellectuals," "Strivers," and "Unconnected"-- continue to affect their careers and lives ten years after graduation. Similar to the famous Grant study of Harvard male graduates some 50 years earlier and reported in George E. Vaillant's Adaptation to Life (1977), this study is quite unique in its focus on the postmodern era. Highly recommended to undergraduates, graduates, and faculty. R. L. Brod; University of Montana

Whatever happened to the Stanford class of 1981? Four-fifths went to grad school, three-fourths got married, and their median incomes are four times the national median. Beneath such gross parameters, individual varieties of experience predominate, which the authors, who surveyed the class in school and again 10 years later (and plan to again a decade hence), sort into four self-evident character-types: the Careerist, the Intellectual, the Unconnected, and the Striver. (Strivers are described as motivated but unfocused students.) Using the standard sociological methods, the authors present statistics galore on decisions made about attending graduate school, choosing a spouse or partner, and starting a family. Otherwise a jumble of numbers, the issues take identifiable shape in extensive interviews conducted with a handful of students. If you didn't attend a top-50 college like Stanford, this study has only envy-rousing value; but if you are age 30-34, a graduate of an elite school, and hang around in libraries instead of working late, you'll pick up this book about your cohorts. ~--Gilbert Taylor

What constitutes personal and career success? This report addresses the question through a representative sample of men and women ``in one preeminently elite institution-Stanford University.'' In this follow-up to a study of the group's college years (Careerism and Intellectualism Among College Students, 1955) the lives of the educational elite, as exemplified by the Stanford class of 1981, are examined longitudinally. In a combination of biographical interviews and questionnaire responses, Katchadourian (professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, human biology and education at Stanford) and Boli (professor of sociology at Emory) probe the attitudes and outlooks of these high achievers. Among their conclusions is that these graduates, while exceptional in their career development, are ordinary in their personal lives, spending leisure time mainly playing sports or pursuing hobbies and centering their activities on their families. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Pedestrian profiles dominate this sociological study of a cohort of Stanford graduates' first ten years in the real world. Katchadourian (Psychiatry/Stanford Univ.) and Boli (Sociology/Emory Univ.) here follow up on their previous work, Careerism and Intellectualism Among College Students (not reviewed). In that study, the authors used two tests to sort Stanford students into four groups. Careerists scored high for ambition, but not for curiosity; Intellectuals the reverse; Strivers topped both tests; those with low scores on both were termed Unconnected. This sequel examines the professional lives, as well as personal and spiritual states, of these young men and women in the decade after graduation. As one might expect, the subjects have proven quite successful; even those few not in business or the professions seem to have found vocations. In typical pop sociology fashion, the authors introduce us to many study participants. Most are so focused on climbing career ladders that their reflections on their lives have little interest. Discussions of romance, families, and the life of the mind inevitably return to work issues. Of the less intellectual survey members, only a handful evidence the impact of their education in the form of the continuing influence of a Stanford faculty member. Problems appear with the authors' initial typology. The Unconnected turn out to be among the most accomplished, with the greatest number of publications and even awards (50% of Unconnected women had won awards versus 38% of male Intellectuals). The study ends in 1991, which leaves one wondering how different types have weathered the recent recession. In any case, to truly give a sense of the value of an elite education, the authors might have done well to compare their subjects more directly to graduates of less prestigious schools. In the absence of a broader context, this look at the lifestyles of the well-educated and anonymous raises more questions than it answers.