Colleges call them “legacy admissions,” high school students who get admission preference because their parents are rich alumni. A new publication edited by Richard D. Kahlenberg calls them what they are: Affirmative Action for the Rich.
Mr. Kahlenberg also has a related article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “10 Myths About Legacy Preferences in College Admissions.” It and the book have caused quite a stir:
“Legacy of Bias,” Scott Jaschik, InsideHigherEd.com
“‘Affirmative Action for the Rich,'” Jacques Steinberg, New York Times blog.
“Why College Admission Legacies are a Crock,” Lynn O’Shaughnessy, CBS Money Watch.
Students who got to Harvard through their own efforts aren’t keen on legacy prefernces either:
“Dissent: Advantages for the Advantaged,” Adrienne Y. Lee, The Harvard Crimson.
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Image (“Harvard Legacy Admissions”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Tags: alumni, college, college admissions, colleges, ethics, Harvard, higher education, inequity, legacy admissions, preference, unfairness
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