<p>regina,
If you look around at highly selective colleges, you’ll find plenty of wealth at virtually all of them. That’s just the nature of the beast as families will do all they can to get their children admitted and families with means have more bullets to shoot in accomplishing this. This is certainly true at the top privates.</p>
<p>As for the publics, think more about the trade-offs you’re making in attending these vs one of the privates. Excellent educations can be had at both, but there are substantive differences in how that is acquired. My sense is that you are underestimating those differences in your zeal to escape a certain demographic that may ultimately exist anyway no matter where you end up. Good luck!</p>