@purpletitan: I’m not saying it’s not economically competitive, but I’m not certain the other systems aren’t even more inequalitarian. At least the US takes context into account, such as the fact one comes from an underprivileged group or a rural area, and elites see diversity (socio economic as well as ethnic) as a positive factor, not a negative factor. I’m even certain it’s fair to students - I’ve sat one of these competitive exams and I ranked very high, but I also know that it’s heavily luck-related.
It also depends on whether universities are seen as a place of education & growth, or as solely a place of instruction. Traditionally, English speaking countries see universities as places for growth, hence the inclusion of more than a test result (or several days of testing). Imperial, LSE, etc., pay particular attention to the personal statement (which is not an exercise in creative nonfiction like the college admissions essay is). Historically, the US is the most invested in providing a full education via college, vs. merely offering classes in the continuation of high school, along with granting access to higher education to a large segment of its high school population, itself very large percentage-wise compared to other developed countries in the 1906-1970 period. Access and “whole person” education are not seen as important in other parts of the world.
@SlackerMomMD: if that makes some of these “elite public” universities offer better financial aid to their instate applicants just for the privilege of being part of that “coalition”, then I’m all for it. 
How will “affordable” be defined? Can any public university offer its own definition and declare itself “affordable”?
I’m kind of hoping taxpayers in the states of Illinois and Pennsylvania will remember the time when tuition was 6-7K rather than the current 12 (UIUC Liberal arts) to 17 (PSU/UIUC business, science, engineering, advertising…), since it wasn’t so long ago, and will put pressure on their legislatures to bring costs in line with income progress and inflation. But if making tuition affordable again comes from the desire to be called “elite” due to belonging to the coalition, ey, I’ll take what I can get.