Reply #62: The probable rationale... [View All]

[Irreverend IX]

Is to draw on a population of students who will pay greater amounts of tuition on the whole and perform better in school. The lower-income students who really need the aid may end up dropping out because it isn't enough, and their need to work for their tuition money may impede their performance in classes and drag down the school's academic ratings. Middle or upper-middle class kids who get a bigger aid offer from a particular school are more likely to choose that school, and that may net the school more money and a better average grade in the long run. It's a mercenary thing to do, of course, but that's what the education system has been reduced to.