My impression is that a change of that nature would select against the applicants with strong alternative routes to funding. Either because they are already wel

My impression is that a change of that nature would select against the applicants with strong alternative routes to funding. Either because they are already well connected and experienced, already have traction, or already have some other advantages. So while it would reduce the number of applicants, it would also reduce the overall quality of applicants. Given that the problem with too many applicants is sifting through them to find the good ones, eliminating the good ones outright would be worse than merely having a higher chance of overlooking them.