I live in the Rice U neighborhood. (Museum District). I'm very familiar with Rice. Believe me, if your hypothetical student really were the "most meritorious" student at Rice University, she would already have a full ride scholarship.
And if your "most meritorious" student at Rice University does NOT have a full ride scholarship, then she is not the "most meritorious" student at Rice.
The types of financial programs in question are for students who are qualified enough to get into Rice, but whose families are not well resourced enough to pay for Rice. These sorts of programs are laudable, and they are exactly what we need to be doing. There are "country bumpkins" from Angleton and Nacogdoches who are as ready to enter Rice as the sheltered kids behind the gates down Sunset in Houston. It's a GOOD thing that Rice is affording those less privileged children that opportunity.