>highest ranking engineering

By defintion some of the highest performing students who must compete for entry.

These are not apples alike.

This is what I was answering to:

> (Side note, this is what we will get 10x with free college, and the guaranteed loans have already driven it this way a bit more)

But perhaps good colleges in the US just accept anyone that walks through the door and can pay the tuition?

Effectively. US universities work on a growth model, expanding their student body and capital investment for tax purposes and to increase profits. There is always some school that will accept a student for the sake of those unforgivable government supplied student loans