The man who made the George Washington University what it is today sits in the corner office of a building with his name on the entrance — the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, where he now teaches — a few blocks away from University Yard.
The university was an inexpensive commuter school when Stephen Joel Trachtenberg became president in 1988. By the time he was finished, two decades later, it had been transformed into a nationally recognized research university, with expanded facilities and five new schools specializing in public health, public policy, political management, media and public affairs and professional studies.
U.S. News & World Report now ranks the university at No. 54 nationwide, just outside the “first tier.”…
Mr. Trachtenberg convinced people that George Washington was worth a lot more money by charging a lot more money. Unlike most college presidents, he was surprisingly candid about his strategy. College is like vodka, he liked to explain. Vodka is by definition a flavorless beverage. It all tastes the same. But people will spend $30 for a bottle of Absolut because of the brand. A Timex watch costs $20, a Rolex $10,000. They both tell the same time.
(From the New York Times via Steve Sailer)
I wonder if this story is correct. Did people get fooled by the high price? It's believable. I've heard that people commonly think the University of Chicago is like a community college, judging from the name. And people do buy that expensive diluted grain alcohol, thinking it's sophisticated even tho people like me smile at them.