I love the perspective. They always say the hardest thing about Harvard is getting in. Harvard is always #1 on the survey. 97% of the students who get into Harvard graduate. They have massive grade inflation. To me, that isn't a good look. If a school is truly challenging it's students and not producing just another generation of donors to the foundation, the failure rate should be higher. I don't blame the kids for this. They are probably very smart. It's not their fault the university isn't challenging them in a meaningful way.
While living in the Carolinas, I once had a choice to make between an Elon grad and a YSU grad. The Elon grad was smart enough, but struck me as someone who could be lazy and entitled. The YSU grad worked his way through school at an auto plant working the night shift. I hired him because of that. He was a great, hard working employee who made me good money for two years. He has his own business now and is what I would consider to be successful. Regional schools like Akron, which really defines most universities, have plenty of kids like this attending and provide a great learning experience for someone who doesn't have the same advantages as others. The key for Akron is developing ways to admit those kids who are capable of graduating. The key for us as alumni is to provide support for these kids so they can share the same success we have. Things like direct financial support or a paid co-op, to name a couple of opportunities, are very important to these kids. It isn't easy, but duty isn't easy.