“A close friend of mine was admitted to a college far beyond his academic level; this was nearly fifty years ago.”
Yup—this really hurts everyone.
In the corporate world it can get truly cruel—I knew one black guy promoted to President of a company (way over his head) and he destroyed it in two years.
He would have been fine as a mid level manager.
“A man has got to know his limitations.”
At least in the private sector there are consequences.
In the public sector, not so much.