Having actually worked in academia, though, this actually does have a kind of fucked up capitalist answer (and it really isn’t merit) which is most true in public universities more so than Harvard: international students pay more. A lot more, in fact… so much so that my alma mater of UCLA has marketing campaigns in places like China.

As others point out, though, this isn’t zero-sum. More money theoretically means more subsidized US students (and more seats in general). At UCLA, this is especially true since any Californian making less than a certain amount can pretty much get a free ride (and even if not that, highly discounted tuition). I myself being a beneficiary of that, too, btw.

Now, private schools on the other hand, they probably pocket that cash. USC being my most local example, but I bet Harvard does the pay to win shit, too. I think it’s correct to take issue with how they operate, but MAGA is misleading people as they always do in any form of class warfare.