Well, I went to UT Austin as a financially struggling student (had to work during the semester as well as every summer), scraped by every single semester and was always worried about coming up with the funds to return the next year. I couldn’t afford to be in a sorority or buy an extensive wardrobe or live in expensive housing. I didn’t have a car or go on trips at spring break. Yet I still had a great time, a very active social life, and look back on those times very fondly. I knew a LOT of other students who “had” to work; it was actually quite common, in contrast to someone else’s flagship experience. I was aware that there were wealthy kids on campus, of course. But in no way did that make me feel inferior or that I was missing out on anything. On the contrary, I was THRILLED to be there rather than living at home and commuting like most of my other siblings.
Maybe I was too busy leading my own very active and satisfying existence to feel bad about the fact that other students apparently had a lot more. Or maybe I was too self involved to notice, lol.