WASHINGTON – Some of the country’s most prestigious colleges are enrolling record numbers of low-income students — a growing admissions priority in the absence of affirmative action .

America's top campuses remain crowded with wealth, but some universities have accelerated efforts to reach a wider swath of the country, recruiting more in urban and rural areas and offering free tuition for students whose families are not among the highest earners.

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The strategy could lead to friction with the federal government. The Trump administration , which has pulled funding from elite colleges over a range of grievances, has suggested it’s illegal to target needier students. College leaders believe they’re on solid legal ground.

At Princeton University, this year's freshma

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