That’s a very good point. So many factors weigh in beyond basic numbers.
Quite anecdotal but S’ group of friends includes some essentially full ride (need based) kids and they are doing just fine. Have strong internships and will make that jump from bottom to top.
Other factors the report doesn’t consider is what occupations these kids seek. A poor kid who attends a “wealthy” school and gets a humanities type degree, or education, or whatever and pursues teaching (k-12), social work, etc is not likely going to make that jump. The wealthy kids that do the same will actually go down in tiers based on earned income (yes I know they may be taken care of through support or inheritance). My guess is if a lower income kid comes to any of these schools with a goal of certain studies that lead to higher income producing careers, they’ll make the jump.