Stanford’s Reputation and Prestige

It was with some dismay that I read the article on Stanford University (May 7) and, in particular, the remarks of admissions dean Jean Fetter. For her to suggest that only Stanford University offers a “first-rate range of opportunities for a complete life” suggests not only appalling arrogance but considerable ignorance as to what other fine universities have to offer, not only in California but in the rest of the nation as well.

Is Ms. Fetter suggesting that students who graduate from Duke or Harvard or the University of Virginia or UC Berkeley somehow have second-rate or incomplete life experiences?

I would remind Ms. Fetter that there is a rather substantial list of individuals who did not go to Stanford and yet managed to have reasonably complete and successful lives.

Diversity is what makes life interesting and exciting. It is precisely because our nation is comprised of individuals from a diversity of racial, social, geographic, and, yes, educational backgrounds that it is so dynamic.

RONALD D. HALPERN

Laguna Hills

Ronald D. Halpern is secretary of American Educational Consultants Inc.