[the_hangman]

> Harvard waives fees altogether for families making less than $65,000. More than 60% of US households have income less than that+, yet only 20% of Harvard's undergraduate class pays no fees. From this we reasonably say that Harvard is mostly a school for rich kids, despite its generosity to those non-rich kids it lets in.

This argument is backwards. Harvard has a need-blind admission policy, which means that admissions decisions are judged solely on merits.

The reason that kids from the > 60% of households with incomes below that threshold don't go to Harvard isn't because of Harvard's admission policies, it's because the college preparatory system heavily favors families with higher wealth.

[bradleyjg]

Having a need blind admission policy doesn't mean that admission decisions are judged solely on the merits. For example, what is meritorious about having a parent that went to Harvard?