Stats only tell us but so much, my dear @Chrchill - something tells me that if Chicago could swap it’s incoming class for Harvard’s right now, it’d make the trade in a heartbeat.
The proof will be in the pudding, though. Let’s track Chicago’s class of 2021 against Harvard’s and see who comes out on top. Let’s track number of Rhodes and Marshall scholarships won, number of places taken at Yale law and johns Hopkins med, number of prime phd slots won, etc.
Time will tell. I have a hunch that seemingly similar stats now will nonetheless lead to significant gaps in achievement later.