<p>The percentage of Ivy students receiving need-based aid ranges from ~45% at Brown and Dartmouth to 60% at Harvard and Princeton ([Ivy</a> League Financial Aid Policies](<a href=“http://www.admissionsconsultants.com/college/ivy_league_financial_aid.asp]Ivy”>http://www.admissionsconsultants.com/college/ivy_league_financial_aid.asp)). So you’ll find many middle income and some lower income students at the Ivies … although rich kids will be an over-represented minority as well. After all, at least 40% of Ivy families are paying ~$60K a year out of pocket. </p>
<p>The percentage of students receiving Pell grants at Berkeley, UCLA, Davis or Riverside is ~30-40%. At the Ivies, it’s about 9% (Harvard/Yale/Penn) to 17% (Columbia). From all these numbers, I’d estimate that a typical Ivy family income spread is roughly 10% lower income, 50% middle, and 40% upper-middle income or higher (>= $150K or so). At Columbia, it might be more like 20-30-50. </p>
<p>So yes, Ivy demographics are a little different than state school demographics. You’ll have to decide if that’s a feature or a bug.</p>