Tuition Gifts Won't Buy Trust

Elite announcements of broader tuition relief (for example, Yale's $200k household threshold) can improve access but do not by themselves restore public trust. Without transparent admissions criteria and reforms to grade signaling and campus political norms, such generosity looks like PR rather than institutional reform. — This reframes elite financial generosity as insufficient public‑relations moves that require complementary transparency and governance changes to address legitimacy deficits in higher education.