Derik Graham, Chapter 5, question 6/2

The passage that struck me as interesting, but also because of its implications in my life, came at the end of the chapter where Wheelan talking about judging books by their covers and the "signals" that we encounter in our economic world. In particular, the section on where students graduate from and how that effects their predicted later income was most significant. I feel that it is applicable to us as students, appropriate, and true to conclude that as students of Minnehaha Academy we have a slight atvantage over other students. This is not to say we are better, or are the best school, but when people hear that name it has an impact, much like companies and branding. I would conclude that where we have gone to school has very much impacted our ability to get into college, as well as increase the calliber of said colleges, based on our preparation and a recognition that MA has proved their students worth. The example of college is a slightly altered microcosm from the real world examples that Wheelan describes and I would propose that the fact that we have gone to MA will have beneficial implications for our futures, which demonstates that if we are going to be judged later on our appearances and where we started, that we have good odds to be sucessful later in life.