Rich Kids Get Leg Up at Cash- Strapped Schools

Endowments are shrinking, and kids are needing more aid—so many colleges are reluctantly giving an admissions boost to students who can pay in full, the New York Times reports. Schools are finding ways to let in more wealthy students without sacrificing "need-blind" labels: by admitting more foreign students, transfers, and those on waiting lists that aren’t covered by the need-blind pledge.

Colleges aren’t necessarily slashing their financial aid budgets—but more kids are needing more help, forcing schools to pick and choose. Though institutions still want to provide for needier students, “there’s going to be a cascading of talented lower-income kids down the social hierarchy of American higher education, and some cascading up of affluent kids,” says the president of Williams College.
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