Sucks if you absolutely need $10000 in aid of course. Is it killing the poor ? No. I worked my way through college and paid full tuition, and only got semi-sponsored housing because some friend told me that some monks actually did that if you made your case to them (essentialy you had to get and keep getting good grades. 80%+ good grades that is, a lot tougher than it sounds (average of class was < 50%), especially if you need a job to pay for tuition as well). So I did present my grades to these monks, and they got me in that system. Later I was able to trade other things (like helping run a fraternity in trade for a room at the fraternity house).

"Many countries consciously set different policies, and I think ..."

Yes, I've seen that in Western Europe. Specifically you can get full tuition scholarship + free housing if your parents pay less than $x in income tax. That sounds great, until you realize ... that rich people are often paid through a company, and can simply set their own pay, and "invest" the rest in a new mercedes or a new house (which I agree is a defensible investment in some cases, but not in most cases). The pay they set, you ask ? $the_limit - 1 for example. (the same limit is used for free childcare, >50% reduction on health insurance, the list goes on ...). About 50% of the people in the free housing had rich parents (you can't tell how much tuition they pay, but you can tell where they live, and whether it's sponsored). That's how at least one "other country" does it.

They try to keep these rich cheaters people away from housing aid, and even that is just mostly people behind the counter acting illegally on behalf of the poor.