Mr. Carrubba points out one "problem" with the admissions process, and Jessica's last sentence appears to split blame between both top students and top schools. I suspect that the HYP schools don't set lofty standards; rather, I suspect that they look at the huge number of highly qualified applicants and think what fools they'd be if they didn't choose to admit the ones that look the best. The perspective in Jessica's article is an important one. I would bet that, of all the successful/happy/wealthy/smart/your-favorite-adjective professional people in this country (or any other), a majority do NOT have HYP pedigrees. Mrs. Micele's advice about finding the best fit is very sound!