talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

An article in today's New York Times addresses the concerns about the declining economic diversity among students at colleges and universities, and notes that many administrators are as concerned about this issue as they are about maintaining or increasing racial diversity. So far, so good. What stopped me in my tracks was a quote from Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard, who said that "An important purpose of institutions like Harvard is to give everybody a shot at the American dream."

Really?

The article goes on to note that many universities are now offering modified financial aid programs for some students: as an example, "The University of Maryland recently said it would no longer ask students from families making less than $21,000 a year to take out loans, and would instead give them scholarships to cover tuition. Officials at Harvard, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia all recently announced similar, even more generous policies." While that sounds great, what about the families who easily exceed the $21K threshold? My own experience as an undergraduate was that there was very little concern about helping those in the middle of the economic spectrum.