I don't want to underplay how much it sucks to not get funding (I didn't get any either and am really sad about it), but I don't think it's really fair to say it's a bogus argument, given how endowments work. Most of Harvard's endowment is restricted funding, so it exists in perpetuity, but can only be used for certain purposes (like building new buildings or scientific research) or for certain schools (most is for undergraduate programs). The people who are most likely to fund scholarships to the school are alumni, so the HLS and HBS have much larger endowments because the people going out of those schools make more and are able to donate more. The fact that it's a new school actually completely makes sense for them not having more money because they haven't had the number of years it takes to build up funds restricted to the Kennedy school.