The U.S.
Supreme Court
may
ban racial preferences
in college admissions when it rules on Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. Even if it does so, however, that action will only be one step toward making college admissions meritocratic. Ending legacy admissions is the next logical step.
While race-based
affirmative action
provides an advantage to black, Hispanic, and Native American students at the expense of white and Asian ones, legacy admissions serve as a form of affirmative action for the rich and well-connected. With legacy admissions, schools prefer applicants with familial connections to a school, especially when the parents have donated to the school over the years.
UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME PAYMENTS: CASH GIVEAWAY PROGRAMS EXPAND DESPITE MIXED RESULTS
In the admissions process, legacy admissions students receive the equivalent of a 160-point advantage on a 1600-point SAT scale over their peers,
according to
the New York Times. From 2014 to 2019, legacies had a 33.6% acceptance rate at Harvard, compared to the 5.9% rate of non-legacy applicants,
according to
Yale Daily News. That means Harvard accepted legacy applicants at a rate six times higher than non-legacy applicants. Plus, if a student checks the correct racial box on top of having that familial connection to a school, they likely have a bigger advantage. White students are generally the largest benefactor of legacy admissions.
When it comes to academic achievement, one of the
main arguments
against racial preferences in admissions applies to legacies.
If a student is less qualified to be in a school than their peers, then the school is more likely to put them in a position where they will fail. If someone goes to a tough school and academically is not qualified to be there, they may struggle. And when someone drops out of college, they are
unlikely
to return to college and finish their degree.
Not to mention, elite schools often have
massive endowments
, so they do not need more money. Harvard’s endowment exceeds $50 billion, and Yale’s is over $40 billion. Even schools with smaller endowments sit on the money, letting their hedge funds grow instead of using them to provide cheaper tuition as the cost of higher education skyrockets.
Colorado became the first state to
ban legacy admissions
at public colleges in 2021. Other states should follow suit. Colleges should admit the best, the brightest, and the hardest-working, not just those whose families give schools legal bribes.
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Tom Joyce (
@TomJoyceSports
) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
