Further to my question about the meaning of “Work on your issue” in Time magazine’s article, “Playing favorites,” there was another phrase I’m unfamiliar with in the subsequent sentence;
“One 2007 Norwegian study showed that firstborn have a 3-point IQ advantage over later siblings, partly a result of being the exclusive focus of their parents’ attention in the earliest part of life. These benefits accrue like compounding interest. A small IQ advantage may yield a similar edge in SAT scores, which may tip firstborn off the Harvard waiting list and into the entering class.
I looked for the definition and usage of the phrase, “tip somebody off someplace (Harvard waiting list / position, situation, whatever) in English dictionaries at hand, but was unable to find any relevant answer. They show “tip A off (off A)” as an idiom meaning “secretly inform a person / police about (against) something,” which I don’t think applicable to the above sentence.
From the context of the above sentence, I guess “tip somebody off someplace” means to place somebody successfully (or luckily) to someplace or status, but I’m not sure. What does “A similar edge in SAT scores may tip firstborn off the Harvard (entitlement),” exactly mean?
Can I apply the phrase to other instance, e.g. “The Iowa caucus result may tip Newt Gingrich off GOP presidential ticket”?