David Leonhardt of The New York Times writes an excellent piece on the dynamics of the current financial aid "arms race" in the US university system.
It is well worth the read. (If there is only one link you actually click from this blog, this is the one.)
Leonhardt points out, among other things, that for all the attention that recent announcements by "elite colleges" are receiving, they are actually drops in the bucket. Most students from poorer backgrounds are to be found in community colleges and public four-year colleges, not the Ivy League.