Born sinner, the opposite of a winner, remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner

Brown University – like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth and Stanford – has decided to eliminate tuition for “students whose parents earn less than $60,000.”  Now let’s see if Brown – along with the others – begins reaching out to exceptional students in less than ideal circumstances.  At Yale, for instance, lower-income students (those whose parents earn less than $45,000) make up only 10.2 percent of the student body (as of 2006), while making up 40% of Americans. 

Now, that’s not to say that Yale should aim for a similar proportion, but having a somewhat larger proportion of lower-income students should be a priority.  Since, if we’re serious about having a meritocratic society, then one of our chief priorities must be a commitment to ensuring that regardless of economic circumstances, an exceptional student can make it to an exceptional school.