Here is a link to my 60th column on Quartz, “Degrees don’t matter anymore, skills do.” The first part of the title of this post is my original working title. 

I want to thank Steven Bogden for this crystallized idea about elite universities selling social status: 

There will still be a few expensive elite colleges and universities; these schools are not just providing an education, they are selling social status, and the opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrity professors.