It is not accurate to say that an “endowment” pays for aid. Does some aid come from endowment? Yes. Have some schools built up separate endowments for aid? Yes. But, even the wealthiest schools depend heavily on tuition money with the possible exception of HYPSM. Northwester for example just went through a financial crisis cutting budgets. Cornell did also a few years ago. University Presidents don’t want to say it openly for morale reasons, but that is what is happening. I am not trying to be critical of commentators, I just see the emphasis on schools admitting too many full pay students as not providing the full picture. The situation is likely not sustainable because as tuition rises, the percentage of full pay will drop, which will limit financial aid.