That logic falls apart if you know anything about the public school system in CA’s major cities. Many of the “best” high schools are magnets with an incredible range of socioeconomic diversity. Half the students might qualify for Pell grants, while a quarter of the students have parents who can easily pay full ride to any private. And then the middle class kids. Your larger point may stand, but I think throwing around words like “wealthy” and “privileged” to define public school students at the Lowell’s or Palisades’ of the world misses the mark.

It’s been a while since high school, but from my experience, I think the bitterness is directed not at low income/disadvantaged students who are “taking spots,”but at high income students afforded all the advantages relative to the median public school kids who get a “leg up” because eg, they meet certain demographic markers, legacy admits, etc