My kid is in a private academic associated with U of T. She will get professors coming in to run workshops in physics or chemistry. An example of something you get in an elite school. Not that you don't have really smart kids in many schools and have intellectual discourse, it is the opportunities. She was in an "elite" science program at amnh. I had ask a billionaire on the board to get her in. She was dissecting a cow's heart at age 6 with her father. They had a private viewing of the software astrophysists use to view the universe in the planetarium with Tyson when she was 8. Just like she will be 15 and have gone to all the continents and over 35 countries. Because I can take her to antarctica this year. Going to antarctica doesn't make you smarter, but it is just an experience that most don't do or get to do. It is just the experiences you are willing to put energy into and pay for. That is how I view elite schools.