Is a college education worth tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars? Is an Ivy League school any better than your local college? Do those rankings really mean anything? How can you understand the system to have a better chance of getting in? You'll hear some fascinating information and get some very surprising answers in this special collection from the pages of The Atlantic, much of it written by current and former college presidents.

Articles included are:

• "Who Needs Harvard?" by Gregg Easterbrook. An excellent education can be had far beyond the Ivies.
• "What Does College Teach?" by Richard Hersh, former president of Trinity College and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
• "Is There Life After Rankings?" by Colin Diver, the president of Reed College. Why one school shuns the U.S. News ranking system.
• "The Third Way" by Richard Freeland, the president of Northeastern University. More and more students are choosing to combine elements of liberal arts and professional training.
• "Independent Counsel" by Nicholas Confessore. Is the expensive expertise of private admissions consultants worth the cost?
• "The Best Class Money Can Buy" by Matthew Quirk. The rise of the "enrollment manager" and colleges' cutthroat quest for a competitive advantage.
• "Does Meritocracy Work?" by Ross Douthat. No - not if society and colleges keep failing to distinguish between wealth and merit.