There have been a lot of posts about rich students getting into college because they are “better prepared” and poorer students can’t handle the rigor. I think the statistics prove this argument is false or at least doesn’t include the whole picture.
At UCLA, the average income is $104,000 and the majority of students are not in the top 20% of the income bracket. At WUSTL, the average income is $272,000, 84% come from the top 20% and 22% are from the top 1%. There are a good chunk of schools like WUSTL if you read the article.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/university-of-california-los-angeles
UCLA is a better school than WUSTL. Why doesn’t UCLA have trouble finding academically excellent students that aren’t all wealthy? Average family income is $104,000. I doubt very much those students had expensive private tutors, top private school, camps, etc.