I do not understand those who oppose affirmative action and its goal of providing equality in educational opportunity, but do not oppose legacy admissions to elite colleges.
Students walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Charles Krupa/Associated Press, File
At Ivy League schools, one in six students has parents in the top 1%. A study released Monday shows that it has not been because these children had more impressive grades on average or took harder classes. For applicants with the same SAT or ACT score, children from families in the top 1 % were 34% more likely to be admitted than the average applicant, and those from the top 0.1% were more than twice as likely to get in.
If the goal is to provide equality of opportunity, it is clear that legacy admissions are a much greater threat than affirmative action. Those who would like to review the data for themselves can find the article in The New York Times: “Study of elite college admissions data suggests being very rich is its own qualification.”
Douglas Robb
Bath
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