The findings befuddled many administrators, who insist that admissions officers have tried to give poorer applicants a leg up.

The schools argued that a bidding war for star students would siphon away money from thousands of other poor applicants.

There are relatively small numbers of poor black and Hispanic applicants with academic records and test scores high enough for admission to Berkeley.

But now, just as the Irish will start giving rather than receiving aid, they find they also have the power to shut the door on poorer applicants.

On how many poor helpless applicants have you fattened your ego?

It's really taking advantage of these people, the poor applicants who very much want to come to the United States.

Under that system, rich, well-connected ex-prisoners were much more likely than poor applicants to be granted licenses.

At the same time, other colleges are taking need into account where they previously had not, rejecting some poorer borderline applicants in favor of better-off ones.

"Did you know that most orders of knights charge a fee for their training, which is waived for poor applicants?"