I am not impressed by the Ivy League establishments. Of course they graduate the best - it's all they'll take, leaving to others the problem of educating the country. They will give you an education the way the banks will give you money - provided you can prove to their satisfaction that you don't need it.

De Vries’s quip satirizes elite higher education by arguing that Ivy League prestige is partly a product of selectivity rather than superior teaching. If an institution admits only applicants who are already highly prepared, it can claim to “graduate the best” while outsourcing the harder work of educating a broad population to less selective schools. The comparison to banks underscores a perceived paradox of gatekeeping: the most valuable resources (money, education, status) are easiest to obtain if you can demonstrate you don’t truly need them—because you already have wealth, preparation, or social capital. The line critiques meritocratic rhetoric and highlights structural inequality in access.