Many Asian parents are not affluent enough to choose luxury designer labels but they act differently when it comes to college selection.
These middle-class parents don’t have 5 million net worth that enable them to afford a 250k “designer label” college education where the quality thereof is only marginally higher. However, the stereotypical Asian middle-class parent often chooses to spend like the upper class on education. They go for the most luxury they can afford.
“Prestige” is Kyle’s term. I call it “branded” as it’s similar to any /luxury designer label/. Designer labels marketing message usually includes something like “Yes we are priced well above the second tiers, but quality is what you get.”
Some Asian parents seem to consider branded college as 5x the quality of a 2nd tier college. Is that true? At a branded university, quality of education is often superior but there’s no objective numerical multiplier like “2 times better”. Spent 250k on top college but your kid outshone by colleagues is my most elaborate illustration of the quality paradox.
Even though as an insider I know the quality of education is similar between NUS, UChicago or other colleges where my colleagues studied, I feel a deep fear that sending my kids to the smaller brand could damage their future.
- transportation tools like Cars are the #1 best example of prestige translating to quality, due to heavy wear-n-tear.
- Building materials also have substantial differences in quality.
- furniture has quality difference.
Pattern: the more physical/mechanical something feels, the more I believe in its quality. For learning, 达者为师. Best books are freely available.
Best teachers are often at lesser-known colleges. So if a lesser-known college employs the real leading experts in the field such as Doug Lea, Stoustrup, John Hull or the 古典文学专家 in 北师大, then parents get a better bargain in those colleges, in terms of access to teacher.
I feel my friend CSY is trapped in a rabbit hole, unable to take a step back.