Ucb, this shouldn’t be about general society causes of distrust. That doesn’t make the fears real. And when talking about top colleges, it’s not even the sort of thinking they look for, in the first place. Assuming the worst is common…but not critical thinking. Will not help you with an admit, if you can’t figure out what they want and just go about thinking it’s all corrupt.
And btw, wealthy kids are no better thinkers than less privileged. Their apps are not guaranteed better. They still fall into the same old potholes. And no, being shifted by a Need Blind to the RD round does not mean the college is suddenly not Need Blind.