I'm an advocate for the top % rules. Is it great? No, but without it, this uni plus A&M could easily become taxpayer supported SMU type universities if it were eliminated. So many students from wealthy suburbs that have access to quality education, opportunities, academic support outside the classroom (test prep, etc) and honestly, family wealth IS undeniably one of the biggest predictors of success in college.
The idea that taxpayer supported state universities were to educate their young citizens who would then go on to be productive leaders and taxpayers was a noble one from the beginning, but looking back at how access to that was restricted, at least the current system attempts to address that. Students from certain backgrounds often have the means and the ability to obtain higher education anywhere, even out of state or private. Less so for other students. As has been mentioned multiple times, the State and citizenry kicked the can down the road for elevating other system schools to alleviate the stresses placed upon the "Flagship" campuses to the tune of 63K+ applieds to UT-Aus in 2023. 19K were admitted and of those, I think around 9K ish were enrolled. Realistically a student from anywhere in the state who qualifies can apply and be admitted via this rule. Is that so bad? Sure it's a numbers game and not all of those students will attend. Some have grand opportunities elsewhere, some flat out cannot afford it, some are tied to their locality and the distance to Austin too far, some know the chasm is too wide for success.
For 2023, 64% of enrolled students were top 10% qualifiers. Of the current undergraduate population on campus, over 9,000 students are first generation. May they go forth and change the world.