Simmons: We're all in an uneven situation no matter where we are. A privileged child can be privileged, but still not be educated. I'm trying to set a model for them of what is possible if they work hard," she says.
We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate like firms, trying to differentiate their products to win market share and prestige points. In the first episode of a special series, we ask what our chaotic system gets right — and wrong. (Part 1 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)