It&#x27;s worth pointing out the silliness of the title (&quot;well, if an MIT grad student claims things are so, who am <i>I</i> to suggest otherwise?&quot;). But it isn&#x27;t so difficult as you seem to think for a somewhat talented and hard-working student of the middle class to be accepted to an elite school. I think there are many here who can attest to this. The wealthy will always have an advantage, but it isn&#x27;t as though it&#x27;s easy to literally buy admission. The sheer number of do-nothing rich kids who never make the cut is evidence of this.