I think the point is that some of these are not life choices for some people. A wealthy student may have the choice to work or not, while a low-income student may not.

If we value meritocracy, we also need to value opportunity. This means not creating a system that is arbitrarily that erodes that opportunity. The top whatever-percent of a society will always find a way to succeed, but I tend to think we want a society that doesn't make it very hard for a large swath to make a middle-class living. Even then, I'm not sure creating a society that forces the masses to "hustle hard core" to manage a middle-class life is a good tack.

I tend to agree with you on some aspects though. There's a mindset and life choices that impact the outcome. I generally say there is a path to middle-class for anyone if you 1) avoid substance abuse, 2) avoid having children before financially ready, and 3) avoid large amounts of debt on depreciating assets. Unfortunately, we've created a system that breaks rule #3 for a lot of people. Some would also argue #2 is getting harder, given the amount training required to become financially stable in a modern economy.

This is all hidden curriculum stuff (just like knowing that applying to 200 places is not what will get you an internship), that you know when you're upper middle class / know people in the field but not as someone who's not in the know.