aahhh, now there us the rub (and you have hit the nail on the head with the determining factor for the behavior of the spineless dimwitted bureaucrats that run this University). Here is the answer…
Capable does not equal ‘good enough to be admitted’. Never has and never will be at the greatest Universities.
How many thousands of Michigan residents are “capable” yet don’t get in to Go Blue?
The day UIUC stops worrying about the ‘feelings’ [of the parents] of those capable-but-not-good-enough to be admitted is the day they reach the next level. They have a high school population second to very few states in producing massive quantities of top tier students. UIUC is just sitting there waiting to be the next Michigan, Virginia or Berkeley; waiting for someone with a backbone to say “enough is enough, your kid is good but not good enough, sorry”.
But no… Instead, we get a big “NO” to the common app (against recommendations from the enrollment management group hired to advise them). We also get a big no on their other recommendation to “Redesign the current freshman scholarship programs to increase competitiveness in recruiting and enrolling high achieving and diverse students by offering more four-year scholarships and framing communications to highlight a four-year package” emphasis mine. Finally we get the mind numbingly idiotic decision to cancel the EA program which basically SCREAMS “we are a mediocre generic state school, hear us not roar!”
Why were all these, and more, decisions made to ensure that UIUC does not become more selective and essentially guarantee that a large portion (not saying a majority, but certainly too many compared to, let’s say, Michigan or California) of the most talented in-state student will matriculate elsewhere?
Answer: It takes a backbone to say no. It takes a backbone to tell people they are not good enough. It takes a backbone to say that ‘we are ready to move to the next level and you will not be coming along for the ride’. Michigan made this decision ages ago and look where they are now. With current management, Illinois will never make that decision, and a generation from now they will be great Engineering school with 30% enrollment form China and a decent Business school who is still losing student to schools like Indiana that offer a few shekels of merit aid.
Not the end of the world but they could be so much more.