It isn’t just location, location, location

The Washington Post raised some hackles this summer when it published an opinion piece that claimed the most important part of choosing a college was its location.

Author Jeffery J. Selingo wrote that a college’s location was the best predictor of the experiential learning opportunities available to its students. Cornell President Jonathan Brand was unconvinced by Selingo’s argument.

“Selingo had one thing right—experiential learning, including research, off-campus study, and internships, is key to a college education today,” Brand wrote in the Huffington Post. “But location may not matter. Cornell College faculty lead classes and our students hold internships around the globe every month of the academic year. We are located in Mount Vernon, Iowa, a town of about 4,600 residents. How do we do it?”

He went on explain how Cornell’s One Course At A Time curriculum gives students the chance to study or take part in internships anywhere in the world while keeping the Hilltop as their base.