When the U.S. Supreme Court recently voted to strike down affirmative action admissions programs at colleges and universities, it turned a spotlight on another system that has slid under the radar for far too long and also advantages some students over others on factors other than merit.
Legacy admissions at more selective colleges and universities have long been a way of putting a thumb on the scale for the children of well-to-do or well-connected alums. The practice also has a particularly unsavory history. Developed in the 1920s, it was originally used to exclude Jewish and Catholic students and ensure sufficient spots for wealthy Protestant families. That makes its survival especially untenable, given the court's recent ruling.
How common is the practice? It varies, and data can be hard to come by. A recent New York Times story found that 14% of Yale University's class of 2025 comprised students whose parents had gone to Yale. "If the Supreme Court outlaws affirmative action, legacy preferences will not be long for this world," Justin Driver, a professor at Yale Law School, said in the story. Driver compared legacy preferences to being "a little like rooting for Elon Musk to purchase the winning lottery ticket."
