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<p>Harvard has no interest in being egalitarian. They’re interested in attracting students that have a good shot as being leaders in whatever fields they end up pursuing. </p>
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<p>I also have been poor and affluent. I worked just as hard when I was poor as I do now. Some people who are more affluent than me don’t work as hard, and some who are poorer work harder than I do now. I put myself through half of undergrad on my own dime, and I’m paying full price for my older kid. Perhaps I should resent myself. Or my parents. Or someone! :)</p>
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<p>This is really only true for full-pay families. If you’d be able to go to Harvard for free, that implies that your family income is no more than $60k a year. Harvard at half price would be around $25-30k a year, which would be substantially less affordable on an income of $60k. Yes, yes, Harvard could afford to pay for all its undergrads AND buy them ponies and ice cream, but other colleges in the same price range can’t afford to be as generous. Paying $25-30k a year would be a bargain for the full-pay families at Wesleyan and University of Chicago and Tufts and Columbia, but not for those in the $60k income range.</p>