"Why don't American elite [colleges] want to be bigger?...[Because they pride themselves] on how many prospective students [they can turn] away," not on "having the greatest possible impact on higher ed." And at the heart of the problem are USNWR rankings: is.gd/oWU40h

...Among other factors, US News rankings reward colleges for how gifted their incoming classes are. This, says Gladwell, is "like rewarding a hospital for how healthy its patients are when they first enter the E.R."