Please quit relying on NYT or other media, lol. I wonder how much we really know, as individuals, about K-12 in our areas and others. There often seems to be some almost mythological insistence that low SES means no opportunities, ever. Odd, considering most of us know our roots and family histories of surmounting and achieving.
I don’t know what personal that feeds. It seems to romanticize “us” as achievers and them waiting for Robin Hood.
Btw, “being impressed by essays about overcoming adversity.” How much do you know how - or whether - that is it? Again, if you looked at low SES kids as more than shadowy caricatures, you’d be surprised.