Statistically speaking most of the schools that CC posters are interested in are attended by the top 5% of the population. There is a point of diminishing returns. Many other factors overshadow (e.g. drive, discipline, organization, social skills) far outweigh the minor differences in between students. Even schools like MSU are attended by kids mostly in the top 15%.
It seems to me that the ‘reach’ schools are mostly about good FA rather than any inherent superiority.