Well, I don’t think they have Texas A&M at the top of their list. 
It would be a mistake to think of the result as having anything to do with which school is best. Instead we’re looking to have a bit of fun with semi-random comparisons between schools. And yes, it is gimmicky.
But I dispute that this isn’t student-centered. The “winner” of each match-up is the school that has the most status updates and favorites. We anticipate most of these votes will come from students and their parents. A few will come from people in the community who have a connection to a school. It’s more or less a popularity contest.
I’m hoping the discussions will be of interest to students too. Hypothetically, how would a student decide between Texas A&M and Northwestern? They have obvious climate and other location-specific differences. But what about academics? Or social life? Or cost? Sports? Even something as simple as the layout of the dorms could be a deciding factor for some students.
In summary, this contest is primarily intended to be lighthearted fun and if it produces something valuable along the way, so much the better. 