June 16, 2006

Should Undergraduates Specialize?

By PATRICK ALLITT

I was a college freshman 32 years ago, in 1974. My daughter, Frances, is about to become a college freshman this fall. I went to the University of Oxford in England. She's going to Emory University in America, and her experience is going to be completely different. There are some obvious outward contrasts. I was a shabby pseudo-hippie with a tangle of crazy hair and no decent clothes. She's well dressed, groomed, and presentable. I had a fountain pen and a record player. She has a computer