Education

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Education serves as a primary engine of social mobility and cognitive development, but maximizing its value requires moving past marketing and conventional wisdom. Our research in this section evaluates the systemic factors shaping educational outcomes, starting with the lifelong returns of early childhood schooling—particularly its longitudinal impacts on adult health, earnings, and crime reduction. We also ground instructional practices in empirical science, using cognitive research to evaluate popular pedagogical concepts like individual learning styles.

For older students, the transition to higher education presents a complex administrative and strategic landscape. We demystify the internal operations of modern university admissions, detailing how applications are prioritized, sorted, and evaluated during rapid file reviews and committee debates. Our research provides rigorous guidance on the mechanics of GPA recalculations, the nuances of navigating waiting lists and deferrals, and the shifting role of standardized testing in a landscape split between digital adaptivity and test-optional admissions policies. We also examine how recent policy transformations, such as the end of race-conscious admissions, are reshaping applicant strategies.

Finally, our analyses address institutional fit, program design, and the economics of higher education. We dissect the competitive dynamics of specialized tracks—including computer science, pre-medical pathways, and direct-admit nursing programs—while assessing the practical trade-offs of college size, campus visits, and transfer versus freshman pathways. By evaluating institutional graduation rates, net price metrics, and career outcomes through federal data and net present value, our research equips families to objectively assess the return on investment of a college degree in an era increasingly influenced by skills-based hiring.

76 published articles