If you think of kids as investments, which is a very apt analogy from the perspective of these universities, the question is whether you should try to build a VC portfolio (aiming to get a few ultra-successes) or a mutual fund (aiming to get consistent growth from the majority of them).

It would be interesting to see if there are any admissions departments on record with statements that map to those philosophies, and any data that shows how those schools endowments fare over time.

This query completely ignores the human issue, which is significant and deserves consideration. But it would be interesting to know.