Legacy college admissions, which gives preference to the children of alumni, is facing renewed scrutiny following the Supreme Court’s recent decision to eliminate affirmative action in student admissions.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts are proposing a new fee that would be imposed on colleges and universities in the state that utilize legacy preferences in their admissions process. The revenue generated from this fee would be used to fund community colleges within Massachusetts.
This proposed law comes in the midst of a civil rights group’s lawsuit against Harvard University over their legacy admissions policy, which allegedly discriminates against students of color by providing an unfair advantage to mostly white legacy applicants. Harvard and Williams College, another highly ranked institution, have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Prestigious schools like Harvard have long relied on admissions strategies that have faced criticism for favoring white, affluent students. According to a 2019 study, legacy students, recruited athletes, children of faculty and staff, and children of wealthy donors comprised 43% of white students admitted to Harvard.
“Legacy preference, donor preference, and binding decisions essentially function as affirmative action for the wealthy,” stated Massachusetts Representative Simon Cataldo, one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
The Massachusetts lawmakers are also proposing fines for colleges that heavily rely on early decision applications, a strategy often criticized for providing an advantage to students from privileged backgrounds. Early decision applications generally have a higher acceptance rate, but they attract wealthier students due to the binding nature of the decision.
In essence, if a student is accepted through early decision, they are legally obligated to attend the school regardless of their financial aid package. Given that Ivy League colleges now cost nearly $90,000 per year, early decision applications are primarily made by the children of wealthy individuals.
Cataldo emphasized, “These policies at highly selective schools disproportionately benefit wealthy students over higher-achieving students who do not have legacy or donor connections, or who need to compare financial aid options before making a decision.”
$100 million from Harvard
The proposed fee within the bill would be imposed on the endowments of colleges and universities that rely on these admission strategies. Cataldo estimated that this law would generate over $120 million annually in Massachusetts, with $100 million of that amount coming from Harvard’s substantial endowment.
Harvard possesses an extensive endowment of $50.9 billion, making it one of the wealthiest higher education institutions in the country. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the university had the largest endowment in the US in 2020, followed by Yale and the University of Texas college system.
Not all colleges engage in legacy admissions. MIT, another Massachusetts institution, has chosen to abandon this practice. Additionally, MIT does not utilize binding early decision applications.
“Just to be clear: we don’t do legacy,” stated MIT in an admissions blog post that explains their philosophy. “We simply don’t care if your parents (or aunt, or grandfather, or third cousin) went to MIT.”
They further emphasized, “So to be clear: if you got into MIT, it’s because you got into MIT. Simple as that.”
Representative Cataldo noted that “good actors” in higher education, such as MIT, would not be affected by the proposed fee.
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