<p>Some bright motivated students from “lower” colleges/universities enter graduate programs at Harvard, Stanford, MIT and the like. I know students from Pepperdine university and Whitman college who are now at Harvard and Stanford PhD programs.
Yes, the proportion is smaller, but it is easier for bright motivated student to stand out and get excellent recommendations from professors.
The difference in academic quality of students entering Swarthmore/Haverford/Harvey Mudd is not significant. How do you determine academic quality? By SAT/GPA? 25%-75% SAT is higher at Harvey Mudd. How about Reed college?</p>