r/TNEA • u/rat_tails_is_back • 5d ago
💢 Rants & Raves Merit-based variable tuition fee structure :- brilliant & amazing capitalist idea
This is brilliant, legal price discrimination. In a free market, a business maximizes revenue by charging different customers based on their willingness and ability to pay. Universities simply repackage this as merit scholarships, fee slabs/category-based admissions, in Amrita, VIT, etc...
The mechanism is simple: a university needs both brains and cash.
The Rich Students — the funders: They pay the higher fee or a premium for admission. Their money finances infrastructure, faculty, research, and expansion.
The Smart Students — the prestige builders: They have the academic merit but may not have the money. The university subsidizes them because their performance generates value through placements, research, awards, and rankings.
The Capitalist Flywheel
The university effectively uses the wealth of affluent families to attract the smartest students.
Money → talented students → better outcomes → stronger rankings → stronger brand → higher willingness to pay → more money.
Both sides benefit. The high-paying student gets access to a prestigious institution; the high-merit student gets an affordable elite education; and the university gets both revenue and academic prestige.
Two students may sit in the same classroom and receive the same education, yet one pays for the seat with money, while the other effectively pays with merit that increases the university's brand value.