High performing high school students tend to have a distinct view of their future colleges: prestige or nothing. But these institutions face thousands of applications from unduly qualified students at a global scale, making acceptance odds very slim. Even if one manages to get accepted, dropout rates due to Relative Positional Disorder are markedly consistent. 

Malcolm Gladwell, author and journalist, coined the term “Elite Institution Cognitive Disorder,” or EICD, an often unconscious mindset commonly expressed by those approaching or within college education. EICD is the notion that people consistently make decisions that are not in their best interest simply because said decision is associated with a prestigious institution. This is shown in students’ selection of higher-ranked colleges simply because they are higher-ranked, without regard to a college’s fit for the individual. 

This is where Relative Positional Disorder, a term also mentioned by Gladwell, enters the equation. A Harvard student at the bottom of their class, though arguably smarter than someone at a lower-ranked college, is statistically less likely to graduate with a degree than that of the “less intelligent” counterpart at the top of their class at an arguably “easier” institution. In simpler terms, one’s standing in their grade affects one’s success.

This success has no reflection on an individual’s cognitive ability; if it did, the Harvard student would prevail time and time again. Rather, it shows the effects of one’s circumstantial position. Any student accepted into Harvard is generally more “intelligent” (however you define that word) than someone at a less selective college, but a student’s standing tends to outweigh their comparative intellect–as far as graduation rates. 

So, an advisable course of action is to pick an institution in which you will succeed–not entirely based on prestige–because your success rate will skyrocket due to your relative standing. That’s where EICD misleads us. Prestige is only important if it serves you. 

Now, having an undergraduate degree from Harvard certainly aids in job or graduate school applications due to the impressive name, and that is what tends to drive EICD. The flattery of being chosen by an elite institution propels the irrationality of our final decision. 

However, an outstanding degree from a slightly lesser institution is universally better than running the risk of no degree, even if it is from Harvard.