You are correct that elite universities still attract a lot of talent. But we are talking small bubbles.  Even medical students are a small minority at elite institutions. 

I noticed a similar trend between Yale and UCLA students. 

What I noticed immediately was that UCLA administrators were blatantly more political and diversity mandates were more stark and rigid 


Bell_curve

AskSN

What is definitely NOT a sign of intelligence but people think it is?

Coinsreporter

Depends on the credentials.  PhD in math/physics/engineering vs basket weaving.  There are some very smart people in liberal arts but the credential itself is not predictive.

It's not popular opinion these days but elite universities do get a lot of talent.  I work with young doctors from both Stanford and a community training program and the difference in the average intelligence/competence, especially early on in training is quite stark, even between Stanford and where I trained (UC).  Saw a similar large gap when I was in the midwest between SLU and WashU students.