Legacy Admissions at Harvard Under Fire
On the heels of the Supreme Court decision to ban race-conscious admissions, Harvard is now facing another potential lawsuit. Three advocacy groups: Chica Project, African Community Economic Development of New England and Greater Boston Latino Network have filed a complaint with The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education claiming that Harvard, and other ultra-selective colleges, privilege wealthy white students through the practice of legacy admissions.
Legacy admissions is a practice used by a number of top colleges that favors the students whose parents or family have previously attended that college.
This is not the first time a claim has been made against the practice. Colorado banned the practice outright in 2021, and in New York, a bill was filed last year that would have prohibited legacy considerations.
Opponents of legacy admissions exist on both sides of the political spectrum. Senator Tim Scott, (R. SC) said, “One of the things that Harvard could do to make that even better is to eliminate any legacy programs where they have preferential treatment for legacy kids.” While Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D. NY) referred to the practice as affirmative action for wealthy white students.
And even the general public seems to be in agreement on this issue. A poll released last year by the Pew Research Center showed that 75 percent of the public believe that legacy should play no role in college admissions.
A few schools, including Amherst, and Johns Hopkins no longer use legacy admissions, and MIT has never participated in the practice. Last month, Amherst released a statement stating that the Class of 2027 has the highest percentage (19%) of first-generation students to date.
Many of the colleges who favor legacy students have defended their practice by claiming that legacy students help keep families involved with a college and bring in higher donations. In turn, these donations are used to benefit all students on campus, not just the legacy students.
The pressure is on to eliminate legacy admissions. President Biden has said that he will ask the Department of Education to investigate the claim. No comment has been made from the Department of Education yet. Stay tuned! We will update you with more information as it becomes available.
Was your child hoping to leverage legacy status?
Unless your student is applying to college in the 2023-24 cycle, Ivy Link highly recommends they find alternate, merit-based boosters and measurable accomplishments. Even if legacy admissions remain legal, we anticipate that colleges will start to consider legacy status with less and less weight with each passing year.
Contact Ivy Link below to learn more about how we students of all backgrounds cultivate a competitive and compelling academic profile that stands out to top colleges.
