<p>“Back then, only trust fund babies and prep school brats went to the elite colleges–everyone else went to the most affordable school close to home.”</p>
<p>Nonsense. Most of today’s CEOs went to college in the 70s and 80s. There was a lot of financial aid in those days, and a lot of public school graduates at top schools. The elite colleges were much more affordable then. Tuition has risen faster than inflation for decades.</p>
<p>So why do there seem to be so few graduates of elite colleges heading major corporations? 1. There aren’t that many graduates of elite schools as a percentage of the educated population. 2. Their graduates are disproportionately likely to enter the professions. I’d estimate that half of my college classmates are physicians or lawyers.</p>