The senior class of 450 in a wealthy suburban high school was delighted by the fact that it had been offered $250,000 in college scholarships. But the school's guidance counselor was disgusted: "We didn't need a single dollar." Why had so much been offered to such a well-to-do few? The fact is, says President John Perkins of the University of Delaware, "something akin to a scholarship racket has evolved." In their blind competition for promising freshmen, many colleges and universities are unwittingly giving aid to students well able to pay their own way.
Last week a new organization called the College Scholarship...