Top universities (Stanford, MIT, Ivy League) don't have a money problem, and they don't have a supply-demand problem. Prospective students would gladly join and

Top universities (Stanford, MIT, Ivy League) don't have a money problem, and they don't have a supply-demand problem. Prospective students would gladly join and work for free, be they foreigners or US residents. They do pay though, although it's not clear what drives their level of pay. Maybe one factor is that if they paid more, it could end up being counterproductive, as the post about f-u money that has been on HN recently can attest.