Harvard and the Ivies are just carrying on. The Ivies hand out lots of aid and since all their enrollees are so "smart" they would all be eligible for merit-based aid; or so the argument goes. The EFC for all students at Harvard with parents making under $150,000 is 10% or less. That's a sweet deal, no matter what you call it. 61% of Harvard students get aid and the average annual aid amount is $39,000.

But how many of these "superstars" do they really want?? It is safe to assume that if your child is white or asian you will not be getting the money unless they are on the verge of discovering the cure for cancer etc. etc. They have plenty of white and asian applicants so you are looking at the schools fighting over the URMs.