Tough and tricky modifier SC - Experts please verify

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In contrast to accredited universities that can grant degrees and whose students can be eligible for federal aid, nonaccredited colleges, while still able to enroll students and to provide instruction, cannot provide their students with the same types of services.

A) nonaccredited colleges, while still able to enroll students and to provide instruction, cannot provide their students with the same types of services

B) nonaccredited colleges cannot provide their students with the same types of services, though still able to enroll students and provide instruction

C) enrolling students and providing instruction, while unable to provide their students with the same types of services, are nonaccredited colleges

D) the services of nonaccredited colleges, while including the ability to enroll students and provide instruction, do not include the same types of services

E) those of nonaccredited colleges include enrolling students and providing instruction, but not the same types of services

OA is A.

B is wrong because "though still able to enroll students and provide instruction" wrongly modifies instruction, rather it should modify colleges. So it should be placed near accredited colleges. But isn't the same issue with Option A as well. Can you please help me understand how the modifier work in A and B.
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by patanjali.purpose » Sat Feb 18, 2012 4:17 am
gmatrant wrote:In contrast to accredited universities that can grant degrees and whose students can be eligible for federal aid, nonaccredited colleges, while still able to enroll students and to provide instruction, cannot provide their students with the same types of services.

A) nonaccredited colleges, while still able to enroll students and to provide instruction, cannot provide their students with the same types of services

B) nonaccredited colleges cannot provide their students with the same types of services, though still able to enroll students and provide instruction
Both "though still able to enroll students and provide instruction" and 'while still able to enroll students and to provide instruction' are phrases/modifers that, ideally, should modify nonaccredited colleges.

In other words these modifiers should be placed closer to nonaccredited colleges. In B - modifier is placed near SERVICES implying SERVICES ARE still able to enroll students and provide instruction. The case of A is different (and better).

Hope it helps.

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by GmatKiss » Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:10 am
In contrast to accredited universities that can grant degrees and whose students can be eligible for federal aid, nonaccredited colleges, while still able to enroll students and to provide instruction, cannot provide their students with the same types of services.

A) nonaccredited colleges, while still able to enroll students and to provide instruction, cannot provide their students with the same types of services - Clear and perfect

B) nonaccredited colleges cannot provide their students with the same types of services, though still able to enroll students and provide instruction - Passive and ambiguous

C) enrolling students and providing instruction, while unable to provide their students with the same types of services, are nonaccredited colleges

D) the services of nonaccredited colleges, while including the ability to enroll students and provide instruction, do not include the same types of services

E) those of nonaccredited colleges include enrolling students and providing instruction, but not the same types of services

OA is A.

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by lunarpower » Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:47 am
patanjali --
patanjali.purpose wrote:In other words these modifiers should be placed closer to nonaccredited colleges.
...The case of A is different (and better).

Hope it helps.
well done.

when you see modifiers that are written in the same way, but moved around the sentence, you should be extremely aware of which choices place them CLOSEST to the things that they ACTUALLY MODIFY.

in this case, the modifier starting with "though..." is talking about nonaccredited colleges, so in point of fact (a) is simply better than (b) at expressing this idea. this may not be a concrete example of right and wrong, but it's definitely a case in which there is no doubt as to which choice is better written.

--

choice (b) is also illogical in a different way: it mentions things that nonaccredited colleges can or can't offer to their students BEFORE mentioning that those colleges "can enroll students" in the first place.
this doesn't make any sense. if you're going to say that the colleges can have students -- and are then going to say what they can or can't offer to those students -- then, clearly, you have to mention first the fact that the colleges can actually have students.
analogy:
Company X rents out motorcycles but cannot rent them to people under 30. --> logical
Company X cannot rent motorcycles to people under 30 but rents out motorcycles. --> not logical
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