<p>
</p>
<p>You’re right that this is really an argument about culture, but we can use statistics about socioeconomic status to make inferences about culture, just as we can use statistics about nationality to make inferences about culture. This involves making generalizations, of course, but some carefully-made generalizations are useful in the absence of more specific knowledge. I would never say, for instance, that all wealthy students are stuck-up, polo-playing snobs, but I would say that most wealthy students lack a genuine understanding of the condition of the poor. </p>
<p>That being said, I would not be worried about wealthy students “acting like snobs” so much as I would be worried about wealthy students not understanding (and consequently making erroneous assumptions about) why a student can’t go to New York with them this weekend, why a student keeps declining their invitations to dinner, why a student’s dorm room looks so bland, or why a student smokes cigarettes or cannabis. The point, in case it isn’t clear, is that all of these behaviours arise from the student’s socioeconomic status and might be considered weird or anti-social by those students who aren’t accustomed to “lower-class living.” And that can make for an awkward social life.</p>