Originally Posted by Bostonian
Sure, I want my kids to "win" and attend good colleges etc. But educational achievement is NOT a zero-sum game.

That's true. The total base of knowledge and skill is positive sum.

I think the competition comes into play when everybody knows that there are only X number of slots at Ivy League colleges, etc.So it's not educational achievement that's zero sum, it's the elite status symbols.

Although with the cost of education skyrocketing, there's a negative sum aspect to higher education these days, too.