&gt; &quot;Moreover, in David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell draws upon research that shows it’s actually more advantageous for a student to attend a college where they can be in the top 10% rather than in the bottom half of the class. It’s the top students at every college who receive the kind of attention from faculty and access to special programs that pave the way to more opportunity after college.&quot;<p>I thought this theory—mismatch theory—was discredited?<p>To clarify for future responses, check out this amicus brief sent to the Supreme Court in the affirmative action case Fisher v. University of Texas. [0] There is a particularly exhaustive section pp. 14-16.<p>I bring this up (and prepare myself for the inevitable downvotes) because I feel like this mismatch theory exists only in the particular social debate around affirmative action, not because it necessarily is or is not true (even though mismatch theory is probably not true). Malcolm Gladwell&#x27;s two stories in David and Goliath and in Outliers—general musings about private schools and musing about football players [1]—plus the one study by a journalist and an economist [2] arguing for Fisher are the entirety of the basis of mismatch theory. There may be two more articles supporting it since the Fisher case went to trial years ago. The amicus I link above must reference a dozen studies refuting it, from a variety of researchers in a variety of contexts. You&#x27;d have to believe there was a huge multi-academic conspiracy to simply ignore that evidence—you know, the kind that people think exists with climate change research.<p>Mismatch theory may be the only argument that is persuasive to these parents, because on the face of it, mismatch theory is consistent with their values for improving their children&#x27;s positivist success. But what if it&#x27;s not true? Trying to ignore the reality that the rat race pays off is not going to reduce suicides.<p>[0] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scotusblog.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2015&#x2F;11&#x2F;LCCR-and-Mintz-Fisher-Amicus-Empirical-Scholars.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scotusblog.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2015&#x2F;11&#x2F;LCCR-an...</a><p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2013&#x2F;10&#x2F;03&#x2F;books&#x2F;david-and-goliath-by-malcolm-gladwell.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2013&#x2F;10&#x2F;03&#x2F;books&#x2F;david-and-goliath-by...</a> &quot;As usual, Mr. Gladwell’s science is convenient. He has charts to back up his premise about academic success, but how is success measured? In happiness? Salary? Getting jobs, or keeping them? Read the annotations if you must, but they won’t get you far. Mr. Gladwell needs a David-Goliath school story, so he creates one. His version happens to have common sense on its side, even if it is in no way definitive or complete.&quot;<p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.utexas.edu&#x2F;vp&#x2F;irla&#x2F;Documents&#x2F;ACN%20Richard%20Sander%20and%20Stuart%20Taylor.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.utexas.edu&#x2F;vp&#x2F;irla&#x2F;Documents&#x2F;ACN%20Richard%20San...</a>