Who Needs Harvard? Not necessarily anyone, concludes a lengthy article in the new issue of Time. Not when there are so many fine colleges around the country that may be a better fit for many kids who currently spend thousands on college counselors and drive themselves nuts to get into Harvard. Or, the article suggests, corrupt themselves, like Kaavya Viswanathan.

This article is manifestly true, of course, and has been every year for decades. Will it have the slightest impact on the number of kids grabbing and clawing to get into Harvard? Probably not. All it does, really, is build the Harvard brand....

One other note: Admissions dean Bill Fitzsimmons is quoted in the article discussing the percentage of students at Harvard from low-income families. ""The word has gone out that if you are talented, the sky is the limit," Fitzsimmons says. "If we don't take advantage of that energy, America will languish."

Fitzsimmons is usually pitch-perfect with the media, but I think he strikes an off-note here: The United States will survive if Harvard doesn't take a few dozen more low-income kids every year. The real point is that Harvard will languish without the energy and diversity of those students.....  ¶ 9:06 AM