You seem to be confusing graduate school with undergraduate school. None of the grad students I work with at MIT have rich families. Many come from very non-elite colleges. They&#x27;re smart and hard-working, much like grad students elsewhere. We get paid below national average salaries to work 60 hour weeks on technically challenging projects.<p>That said, MIT has an unfair reputation of containing geniuses. Elite schools do have a greater impact, but only the true theories&#x2F;discoveries stand the test of time.