What I'm saying is: universities are incentivized to mislead people (including themselves!) about this. If you are a working class family with a kid who is ver

What I'm saying is: universities are incentivized to mislead people (including themselves!) about this. If you are a working class family with a kid who is very talented at math, and you go sit down with the counselors and ask them: If my child studies pure theoretical math, will that open them up to a life full of possibilities? they will say "yes, it absolutely will". But that's not true. It might be true, but it's a big risk. It's a risk a wealthy family can very easily absorb. But if this child from this working class family takes on this risk using student debt, it might go poorly. They might very well be good at pure math but not be good enough to go into academia. Then they might be unsure what else they can do with that degree, unable to get their foot in the door at the kinds of employers where just a general proof-of-being-smart degree is enough. And now they have debt and uncertainty about what to do. It also might work out great! But it's a risk. And I know a number of people who feel they ended up on the wrong side of that risk.