I’m sure the top Buckeye could do something similar. My kid attended a little LAC ranked in the top 100 or so-nothing remarkable. Also did an REU at a top 20 one summer. Kid applied and was interviewed for a Harvard RA position like the one your example did. Kid ended up RA at the Fed and certainly did work with NBER economists who have continued to ask kid to work with them on projects and continue to mentor. It doesn’t require the Brown degree to do that much, anyway.