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<p>Actually, school-prestige rankings informally existed long before USNWR rankings, although some of the “elite” schools (e.g. HYP) admitted a substantial portion of their students from SES-elite-not-necessarily-academically-elite prep schools. Back then, the idea that one can reach eliteness mainly through inherited wealth with relatively little academic merit and effort (just enough to get a “gentleman’s C”) was not frowned upon, unlike today where even the most advantaged (in terms of inherited SES) student is expected to show a good level of academic merit and effort (though the elite-SES advantages can help such a student reach the top level more easily than someone from a low-SES family).</p>