Has College Become a Fungible Commodity?

You know, it took me a while to come up with the exact word I was looking for to describe the point of this blog post. Take it in, readers; you never know when it'll show up on an SAT!

Same purpose, different experience?

fun·gi·ble

/ˈfənjəbəl/

adjective: fungible

1. (of a product or commodity) replaceable by another identical item; mutually interchangeable.

   
   

Stick with me, here. I'll get to the point soon enough. During my other life as an engineer, I worked for a global forklift manufacturer. When I was on the techie side of things, I was responsible for engine design, hydraulics, and the intake and exhaust systems. Guess what? EVERY forklift on the market had those same components. Every 5,000-pound forklift on the market had a 5,000-pound lift capacity. Forklifts are workhorses in warehouses and construction sites, not our personal automobiles.

When I landed on the marketing side of things years later, it was a tougher hill to climb. How to differentiate the Doosan (formerly Daewoo) forklift from the others on the market? I didn't quite know, but I did come up with a killer tagline that they still use today ☺️: DRIVE THE DIFFERENCE...DRIVE DOOSAN! Even though I didn't know what the heck the differences were compared to our competitors at the time, I decided to differentiate right off the bat in the minds of consumers. In true marketing fashion, I'd figure it out later.

What I discovered was that the differentiation didn't come down to the truck, per se; it came down to the driver. What were the comfort features? Did we have correctly sized cupholders? Was the seat cushy enough? Was the armrest in the right place? Drivers didn't want workhorses; they wanted the same features they enjoyed in their car. If a manager wanted happy drivers, he purchased what the drivers wanted, and Doosan delivered. Although the majority of competitors had these features, too, we REALLY highlighted the bells and whistles as the difference! Forklifts, across the board, are fungible commodities, but matching the truck to the operator was the DIFFERENCE.

So is tissue paper. Do you buy Kleenex, Puffs, or Great Value? Even in this fungible commodity field, people still choose what is best for them based on a myriad of attributes: softness, strength, price, box design, with aloe or without, square or rectangular box. Geez! We're just talking tissue paper you throw away after one use. Can you imagine choosing a college? Which brings me to my point, finally. Thank you for your patience. 😌

The acceptance letters are pouring in. You're going to have to make some tough choices. How do you choose if cost is not a factor for you? The question I pose in the title of this post, Has College Become a Fungible Commodity?, has a popular answer that people don't like to hear, and that is, "It all depends." But, on what? It depends on the student. Just like the forklift driver, the choice is dependent on the person experiencing the purchase.

Let's say a kid got into the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, a prestigious business school at an Ivy with a reputation of being number one around the globe. Pretty impressive! This same kid also got into the liberal arts college, Bucknell, who also has an undergraduate business school, The Freeman College of Management. Both are pretty pricey, so cost is not a factor in his decision. What becomes a factor is who the kid is and where he'd get the most out of his experience. You can argue that Wharton is hands-down the choice. BUT, what if I told you the kid is shy, keeps to himself, likes to blend into the background. Would you still choose Wharton? See, this kid is NOT going to take advantage of the networking opportunities available to him at Wharton. The students at Wharton are ultra-competitve, super outgoing. At Bucknell, where it's a smaller, more intimate setting, the professors will get to know him, even if he doesn't approach them directly. Actually, they'll approach him. Bucknell will more likely provide the best opportunity for growth in this kid; Wharton may actually do the opposite.

I know, you're thinking, "I don't see the fungible commodity part, Lilly?" I'll admit, Wharton is not a replacement to Freeman. But the real question becomes, Does It Matter? Will a Wharton education bring more success to the student than going to Bucknell? Not if the student isn't willing to take advantage of the Wharton opportunities that surround him on a daily basis. See, today's employers know how expensive an education is. Those degrees from the elite schools have lost some of their luster recently. Even employers are looking, not to the school attended or brand name, but rather to the person themselves. There was a day when a Wharton education alone was enough credibility to get the job. Employers are digging deeper today. They are looking at your college experiences. That's why you must be comfortable at the college to thrive, not hide.

If you think of the degree you're earning as a fungible commodity, then you have to go deeper in what YOU truly want in a college, and also know who you are as a person in that college's setting. It's really never about the product (forklift, Kleenex, college), it really comes down to the customer ~ that's YOU! So, take the time to dissect what you really want, who you really are, and how you bridge the gap between the two so you continue to grow into the best version of yourself. You deserve a college where you truly belong, and that has nothing to do with where that college sits on a ranking list.

Good luck with your choices!🍀