<p>Suppose every top tier student decides to attend one of the top tier prestigious colleges, and suppose the entire top tier of colleges decided to admit everyone with sufficiently high grades and test scores. In other words, all 8 Ivies, MIT, Stanford, Rice, Duke, Caltech, etc. decided to simply use a supercharged version of the Ball State University admissions policy, which meant that all 99th percentile students were accepted.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there are so many of these top tier schools to go around. Every dorm room would have to house 15 students, the city would be overcrowded with students, there wouldn’t be enough food for everyone, and the professors would have to work 24/7 on classes alone (never mind research). The only way for the schools to adjust would be to expand like no school has ever expanded before, but that would require destroying all of the surrounding neighborhoods. In short, life would be miserable. Meanwhile, all the schools below the top tier would have the last laugh and be able to brag about how much better their quality of life and instruction are.</p>