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Yeah, see that's the whole point of those institutions. It's all just signaling. Harvard could let in twice as many people easily, but then it would stop being the "best school" because acceptance rate affects school ranking.

Instead of focusing on those schools, why don't we as a society try to remove the stigma of going to community college or learning a trade?

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Well, and the ratio of faculty to students would be worsened, facilities would get overextended, many students wouldn’t be able to live on campus, etc. I agree with your broader point though and indeed Harvard does have Harvard Extension School and was one of the founders of edX.

> Harvard does have Harvard Extension School

Yes, and my wife is currently pursuing a graduate degree through there. It requires 3 on-site classes, and appears to be just a rigorous as a degree program in person.

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