<p>^^epiphany is spot on. If you look at the individual UC campuses, you’ll see that even Cal and UCLA are comprised of ~33% Pell Grantees. That number cannot happen by accident. If the admissions “thumb” favored “higher income students,” economically Cal and UCLA would have a lot more full-pay suburbanites, just like HYPSM. Instead, it’s a big thumb for lower ec kids, (which also hinders the campus’ SAT scores and rankings, which SAT fans tend to ignore).</p>