Last year, as a college freshman, Jack Fischer decided to put some casual observations to the test.
He had noticed during his college search that public colleges and universities seemed to get short shrift in many publications, including The Times, while the Harvards and Dartmouths of the world were celebrated and constantly mentioned.
As the 19-year-old recalls: “It just seemed like there wasn’t much being said about a lot of public institutions, especially in light of the intense coverage of similar private schools. I don’t know who said it, but there’s a quote that goes something like ‘The most exciting thing isn’t ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny …’.”