Koko, I’m not sure you are correct regarding the racist slant. These days most elitist colleges and universities give much of their grant monies to ethnic minorities. Middle class whites are expected to pay full freight, or they can go elsewhere, and many do. My brother, an English teacher and an Ivy grad, has been interviewing for his alma mater for decades. According to him the best and the brightest students come mainly from the middle class, eventually most opt to attend state schools and matriculate in their honors programs. These programs are very selective and very good, and the price is right compared to the Ivies. Not every family/student can feel comfortable with the level of debt required to graduate from a private college. My brother laments the loss of so many wonderful students each year because of the way his alma mater now disburses its available funds.

From what I’ve seen and heard, elite colleges and universities are becoming the “playground of the wealthy” on the one hand, while on the other, they admit a whole bunch of minority students who are on financial aid. There may not be a plethora of “brilliant” students in this mix, but that is apparently no longer the criteria.

I don’t think it’s racist to recognize that parents who are paying 50K/year are more than likely subsidizing less affluent students who may very well be from ethnic minorities. This is not “racist”, it is simply the reality.