<p>Stanford has something else going for it that its private school peers do not. Climate. I know many high school students cross admitted to top 10 schools with Stanford and chose it for that reason alone over the others. Climate is something that cannot be acquired (at least not until we get a little more CO2 into the air). All Stanford has to do is remain reasonably close in academics to Chicago and others and it will likely win most cross admit decisions.</p>