@ucbalumnus asked, “But do they actually want to improve their (SES) diversity numbers?”
I believe the answer for many top colleges is yes. In January 2018, I participated in an alumni group phone call with the dean of admissions and financial aid at my alma mater, and the whole call was about the efforts the college is making to visit and recruit in low income areas, to fly in low-income students to visit the college, to bring in kids through Questbridge and other organizations recruiting needy kids, and to meet full demonstrated need as they do. They say they are not only need blind, they are “need seeking.” They also spoke of their efforts to make every aspect of college affordable for aided kids, from textbooks to “pizza money.”
And again and again in other communications from the college, this is their biggest theme. While one can argue if they are perfect at it or if they could do a lot more, or if they do other things that undercut the goal, their message is so consistent and so passionate that I completely believe they value it. They want to make the college accessible to bright kids regardless of family finances.
And I see it live at my son’s college. Almost all of my sons’ friends receive financial aid, and are aided in so many generous ways, from textbooks, to music lessons, to travel, to school-to-work tours to major cities in breaks, to skiing lessons.