Socioeconomic discrimination?

Yesterday the New York Times published a somewhat surprising article written by Kate Zernike called "Paying in Full as the Ticket into Colleges" about the recent trend of colleges being more likely to accept affluent students into their institutions simply because they can afford to pay in full without using any financial aid. I never knew this sort of thing happens. Call me naive, but I always thought any student - if he or she is talented enough - deserves an equal opportunity at a prestigious higher education regardless of financial status. Especially in consideration of the struggling economy, I find it to be heartbreaking that this is happening. There is such a thing as socioeconomic diversity. I would hate for such a dynamic to falter as a result of this.