You're kind of arguing against meritocracy here. The elite groups exist everywhere. Aren't Ivies elite by your definition? Why should they exist and provide bet

You're kind of arguing against meritocracy here. The elite groups exist everywhere. Aren't Ivies elite by your definition? Why should they exist and provide better career opportunities to their students? YCombinator doesn't exist to favour one group of people arbitrarily. It exists so that it can identify the most promising startups and help them a little through their journey. IMHO.