Straw men and their builders abound on this thread, utterly unnecessarily. No one made any claim that LD students cannot be gifted in some areas. In fact, quite the opposite was asserted.
It is myopic (not “myoptic”) to think that all learning disabilities are identical in kind and degree, and that those disabilities predict or even allow identical academic results. This thread, however, is not about LD, or even about giftedness.
Again…Subject of thread: The question was raised by the OP as to why “rich people” would seek an elite education – a product which is supposedly no better than a less expensive education.
Answers were provided. I provided some having to do with physical amenities, beauty, that kind of thing. It seems that some posters were attacked or opposed for giving examples of S’s and D’s (including in the same family) varied experiences. The response by some was to raise exceptions to the rule as a supposed proof against the rule. But why should anyone feel threatened and defensive because their own family made a different choice, a choice that worked somewhere between reasonably well and beautifully or even ideally? That’s why people come to this country in droves for higher education: Choice and opportunity.
In addition, for some students, the accidental existence of a high proportion of intellectually gifted students at elite universities has been beneficial after the fact, since the one thing that gifted students most often lack in K-12 education is the opportunity to develop relationships with those on their level. It’s extremely important to their development and even to their happiness. Those of us who work in the field professionally can verify it.
Most families (and I think in most cases college admissions is a family effort these days) seek what they hope and assume will optimize their student’s academic and eventually career opportunities. For many, they are simply wanting colleges with the best resources in the student’s field of interest. Others believe that “name-brand” matters to long-term success. Others would disagree about the “long-term” angle, and the studies would back up their opinion. But those are personal decisions.
“Rich people” include the thoughtful, the informed, and the misguided. They include the selfish and the generous. They include the gifted and the non-gifted.
I completely agree with @MaineLonghorn in her post about outstanding opportunities available in some publics.
Second point: Simply attending and graduating from an elite U does not in itself promise success. It still matters how well the student does there. Since I’ll be attacked for providing an example from my own family, I won’t give it. (People can PM me.) Too many posters personalize everything that all other posters say as somehow devaluing their own children and their own family decisions. Nobody should be devaluing other people’s decisions or questioning the success of their students, but neither should posters be attacked for providing possible answers to the OP’s questions. Suffice it to say that IF the student is fortunate enough and noticed enough to be accepted to an elite private, and does exceptionally well there, to be point of recognition at graduation, I will tell you that such a combination will open doors for him or her, immediately after graduation, and in turn, the substantial (i.e., not “social”) connections established right after that graduation will tend to sustain that graduate deep into the early years of his or her career. Simply an elite diploma will not necessarily accomplish the same thing, and I agree, again, with @MaineLonghorn that achievement in an Honors college or any other great opportunity at a public can launch a student into long-term success.