Colleges aren't a zero sum game. The more qualified college goers there are over time, the more total college spots will be available. It's not like the number of universities (and the size of each) is some fixed constant. The entire pie can be, and is, grown.

Oh in terms of something like money, taking X dollars from the richest and using it to help the poorest is extremely positive sum.

This might be true for college admissions too, if you're flush with opportunities you're still ahead if you lose one.

But there's still an aspect of "pulling people back". It's a hard tradeoff to design. But if you do it right you really can make something with better outcomes and more fairness, even if some will call it an abomination.