‘Affirmative Action for the Rich’

The ban on affirmative action has put pressure on selective colleges to end legacy preferences in admissions. But the advantages of familial wealth go beyond alumni status.

s the tremors of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action continue to reverberate across higher education, legacy admits are poised to become the next domino to fall.

Yesterday the Education Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s policy of preferential admissions treatment for the children of alumni. The move came after a coalition of interest groups led by the Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a complaint arguing that the practice illegally discriminates against students of color in favor of wealthy, less qualified applicants. Read More