Pick hat up close to entrance (5)
I believe the answer is:
elite
'pick' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'hat up close to entrance' is the wordplay.
'hat' becomes 'tile' (I've seen this before).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'close to' says to take the final letters (the close/ending of).
The last letter of 'entrance' is 'e'.
'tile' backwards is 'elit'.
'elit'+'e'='ELITE'
(Other definitions for elite that I've seen before include "Aristocratic" , "Aristocracy" , "Pick of the bunch" , "Privileged or posh group" , "Best, privileged, group" .)