The problem is that law (and other professional) schools are incentivized to largely disregard the institution of applicants and instead base most of their admi

The problem is that law (and other professional) schools are incentivized to largely disregard the institution of applicants and instead base most of their admissions decisions on GPA and LSAT so they can get high US News rankings. An elite undergrad institution can best serve it's students by making sure high GPA's are achievable to hard working, smart students who want to go to professional schools.