Not sure that logic works in CA where there are a large # of families who are full-pay because the cost of living here is high. I know a bunch of people who make too much to qualify for financial aid but who would much rather pay $40K/year than $80K/yr.
Back to Reed specifically - I will say that despite the department’s growing pains, my Reedie has really loved all of her CS classes so far (and almost all of the other ones). She’s more likely to go to grad school than into industry, at least at this point (2nd semester sophomore).