I'd add to your comment that from what I've heard some of the traditionally elite universities such as Harvard/Yale/Stanford have very generous financial aid fo

I'd add to your comment that from what I've heard some of the traditionally elite universities such as Harvard/Yale/Stanford have very generous financial aid for lower income students. And while I don't have the exact numbers handy, if I remember correctly their definition of lower income extended into the $100k+ household income range. Again, this is anecdotal, but I have a good friend who was accepted to both Berkeley and Stanford, among a host of other schools but those two were his top choices, as an undergrad transfer from a community college. He grew up extremely poor, not HN's definition of poor as in he can't afford a SFH in Noe, but poor as in relying on food stamps/section 8 with parents who never even graduated high school. He was leaning towards Cal but ultimately the financial aid package that Stanford gave him was too good to turn down. He will graduate with close to zero debt or loans.