it is entirely about brand name. add to your example the strengthening of ties within the old-boys ivy league network. it's perfectly rational - if you're them do you take the smart kid from the university of connecticut who comes from a modest background and is on in-state tuition or the smart kid from yale who, chances are, is related to a congressman, corp executive, or, if you're lucky, a saudi prince. kind of a no-brainer if your business is based largely on relationships and protected largely by class barriers.

come to think of it, why is everyone on here so concerned with 'killing hollywood' lately? we should be killing the too-big-to-fail financial institutions.