How on earth does this make sense?  YC operates on a similar model to an American residential college - young people apply and attend to get access to high-quality teachers/mentors and with the expectation that participating in the program will improve their career prospects.<p>This model is based entirely on reputation and there is no way in which opening a competing institution makes things worse for applicants.   People will apply to multiple programs and select the one they consider highest value.  Institutions will compete with each other to attract the best applicants.