How to Choose a College Using the "Viewpoint-Ratio"
The viewpoint-ratio is the ratio of progressive-to-conservative students, or the ratio of conservative-to-progressive students
In an upcoming article I plan to look at some survey data that may help you, or someone you know, choose a college. To motivate that article, I wrote this one. Actually that article got so long, I broke off the first part to create this one. Sort of like an iceberg calving. This raises the question: “What is the iceberg?” Never mind that though.
Earlier this year I wrote, “How to Choose a College: Reliable Metrics for Predicting Campus Discourse and Making Friends in College.” In that article, I recommend using the student “viewpoint-ratio” to help you or someone you know, like your kids, find a suitable college.
The student viewpoint-ratio is the ratio of progressive-to-conservative students, or the ratio of conservative-to-progressive students, depending on which is the dominant viewpoint.1
Along with typical factors such as SAT-score, location, tuition, proximity-to-family, and area-of-study, I recommend the viewpoint-ratio as a factor in your college decision making process. The viewpoint-ratio may help you find a better cultural fit in your upcoming college experience. Or it may help you do some root-cause analysis to determine what the hell went wrong. Like, can-I-get-my-money-back wrong. That gives me an idea to introduce you to Prof. Robert Dibble in an upcoming post.
The basic idea in “How to Choose a College,” is that college is not just a place to learn, nor just a place to obtain a high-status degree. It’s also a place to meet people - to find friends, future colleagues, business partners and maybe, most importantly, a mate. Like religions, dating apps and social media, college is a platform that brings people together. And unless you go to grad school, this one college experience may be it for you. So pay attention.
The viewpoint-ratio helps us deal with the divided political landscape that we find ourselves in. If you’re unfamiliar with this metric, check out “How to Choose a College” on a desktop or a mobile device.
Obviously, attending a college full of progressive viewpoints may not be the best for you. Without genuine diversity of viewpoints how can we determine what works best? Homogeneity of viewpoints, might make it more difficult for you, to voice your unique perspective.
Instead of the typical progressive viewpoint, consider choosing a college that has a more favorable viewpoint-ratio. Maybe a 50/50 split between conservative and progressive students? Or maybe a mostly-conservative cohort? What sounds good to you? Two progressive students to every conservative - is that bearable?
Certainly you don’t want to show up at the job interview with little understanding of the conservative or libertarian viewpoint. That might lead to you buying into conspiracy theories about the 2016 presidential election. Or it might pigeon hole you, and lead to even more conformity.
Choosing a school with a desirable viewpoint-ratio can be a difficult balancing act. Notice that average SAT score typically increases with greater prevalence of progressive political views - the Ivies being the clearest example. If you’re conservative and want to greatly increase your chances of finding a mate with similar views, you might be limited to schools with lower average SAT scores. Surely you don’t want to marry someone with a much lower SAT score than you? Or maybe you don’t mind?
The table in “How to Choose a College,” sorts colleges based SAT score and viewpoint-ratio. First, decide what viewpoint-ratio is bearable to you - or preferable to you, depending on your perspective. Then use my sorted list of colleges to help determine what schools you should apply to - with your SAT score presumably being one limiting factor among others, such as your budget, or distance from Mom and Dad.
Maybe you enjoy surfing and mountain biking like I do, and will weigh outdoor-sports heavily in your college-making decision. Like I did. The truth is, that I had two completely different college experiences. The first, was sort of a warm-up, for the second.
If you’re conservative or libertarian like me, I would try sticking with a viewpoint-ratio of “better” than 2 to 1. That is, consider selecting from schools with fewer than 2 progressives students to every conservative student. But keep in mind that setting a maximum viewpoint-ratio of 2:1 might greatly limit your options, because as I said above, schools with higher proportions of conservatives tend to have a lower average SAT scores.
If you’re conservative or libertarian, with a really high SAT score, congratulations, but also “my condolences.” In this case, if you want to be surrounded by students with similarly high SAT scores, then you’ll have to “sacrifice” some viewpoint-ratio. A viewpoint-ratio lower than 3:1 might be a better starting point. Can you deal with that? Of course you can, but is best for you considering that college is more than a place to learn. It’s a place to meet friends for life. Maybe the most important person in your life.
Of course this strategy isn’t a panacea - the state of higher education is pretty bad. I hope at a minimum viewpoint-ratio provides you with more clarity. At least it might provide with a better idea of what you’re getting into. The last thing you want is to wake up in capitalist hellscape or a progressive utopia.