The Washington Post, February 23, 2016: The false hope of free college

"The U.S. has a big problem getting poor kids to graduate from college, not students from middle-income and affluent families. More than 80 percent of students from families in the top income bracket in the U.S. now hold a bachelor’s degree by the age of 24, compared to just 8 percent for those in the bottom income bracket. Yet the merit scholarship programs in the states disproportionately help students from middle and upper income families. In Florida, for instance, only one-fifth of the tuition waivers go to students whose families earn less than $30,000 annually."