One of my Collegewise colleagues shares a great story about his sister coming to visit him. She arrived and told him about a trendy new restaurant in town that was reportedly booked out months in advance. She was lamenting that they wouldn’t be able to try it.

But he took a shot and called. For some reason—whether she had bad information or he just got lucky—they had a table for two available that night.

When he shared the news, she immediately lost all interest. What had made the restaurant so appealing was the thought that she couldn’t get a table.

People want things that others can’t have—it’s human nature. And the longer the literal or figurative line of people out the door clamoring to get in, the more appealing it becomes. People talk about those lines (“They’re booked months in advance!” or “They sold out in two hours!”) as much or more than they do about what’s inside.

Just because something is hard to get doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better than the other options. Scarcity is often a result of the story people tell themselves.

I’ve met plenty of students who are desperate to attend a prestigious college because they’re “great schools. ” But in fifteen years, I’ve never met one—not a single student—who could back up that statement with a factual explanation. They can point to generalities like connections or better jobs or admission to graduate programs. But the facts don’t support those statements.

Side note: “It’s a great school” is very different from, “It’s a great school for me, and here’s why…”

I’m not arguing that prestigious colleges aren’t good schools. But the reason they’re absurdly difficult to get into is not because they’re inherently better schools. They’re that difficult to get into because people want things that are really hard to get. The fact that this isn’t a rational desire is exactly why that desire breeds so much irrational behavior.

If the Ivy League schools agreed to change their names annually, eventually, nobody will recognize any of them by name. I wonder if the lines to get in would still be as long as they are now?