I think what I'm trying to get at with the Common App is that it turns a time problem into a money one. If I had to write separate essays for every college app, I could've only applied to maybe 6 or 7. Instead, I could pay money to apply to more schools.
As for the quality of the American college system. I think it's hard to argue that many of the best universities are generally in the US. (I choose the UK ranking initially b/c it was the least friendly to American Universities). Many of these universities are also public and fairly low cost. My gauge on the problem of American universities is the bubble in demand. Too many people want to go to college for skills that aren't needed widely. This demand drives up cost to its currently crazy levels and creates long term debt issues.
As for the quality of the American college system. I think it's hard to argue that many of the best universities are generally in the US. (I choose the UK ranking initially b/c it was the least friendly to American Universities). Many of these universities are also public and fairly low cost. My gauge on the problem of American universities is the bubble in demand. Too many people want to go to college for skills that aren't needed widely. This demand drives up cost to its currently crazy levels and creates long term debt issues.
As for the bad research to boost publication counts, I think basically every university does that. Maybe you'd like this source better: http://www.leidenranking.com/ranking/2018/list