Free college for all? (not political)

[GMTplus7]

A part of this is also cultural as there’s a strong perception that the government does a far better job of ensuring high academic rigor and standards at the public colleges precisely because there’s no profit motive along with the idea everyone in society benefits from allowing the best most academically high-achieving students who are qualified to benefit from a free college education

If the US followed other countries to give free college to only the “best most academically high-achieving students”, the result would be politically unpalatable because of the racial groups that would benefit:

Consider that in Louisiana, TOPS scholarships go disproportionately to white, comparatively higher income students. Nationally, National Merit Finalists are hugely disproportionately asian.