I dunno about that. Connections and money ALWAYS had a lot to do with who got in at the exclusive universities.
Do you really think the Bushes, the Gores, the Kennedys, the Clintons and every other kid of every other wealthy and/or powerful person “has the chops” to get into the Harvards and the Yales? Of course not. Mommy and Daddy’s money and power opens the door for them - even when they are complete dunces. It has ever been thus.
College tuition for elite universities has always been a filter to weed out the poor from enrolling en masse.
Yes, there were legacy admissions, and of course exceptions to the rule.
Trust me - the average person without connections, there was no way they were getting into major colleges or universities.
The comparisons are very, very stark. Our High Schools in the 1930s and 1940s, were fairly rigorous and included foreign language requirements and higher level Math.
There was a story reported recently, a major university is dropping the Math requirement, they can’t get anyone to pass Algebra.
People have no clue what is happening, it is practically an extinction level event in a lot of ways, our “education” system has failed. We up until fairly recently used to hear about “competing in the global economy” and setting the standard for excellence and preparing for the future. These make for great slogans on posters in the hallways, but it doesn’t appear they are preparing anybody for anything.
Meanwhile, students in say, India - Calculus in 5th grade.