 or ACT (American College Testing) examinations. In theory, the tests are intended to level the playing field for applicants; however, when choosing between candidates with the same test scores, colleges were shown to opt for the children of alumni or more athletic students. Children who went to private schools were given higher ratings for non-academic qualities including extra-curricular activities such as chairing a school debating society, non-scholastic achievements, and recommendations from teachers. The study was released a matter of weeks after three civil rights groups asked the US Department of Education to investigate Harvard's admission policies and ordered the university to abandon 'legacy' preferences if it wants to continue receiving federal funding. It alleged that donors' children were seven times more likely to be offered a place at Harvard and children of alumni six times. 'Channelling them to remain at the top' College admissions policy has become a sensitive political issue in the US especially since the Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action in favour of black students last month. The authors of the study argue that college selection policies are perpetuating the class divide in favour of the elite. 'Are these highly selective private colleges in America taking kids from very high-income, influential families and basically channelling them to remain at the top in the next generation?' Raj Chetty told The New York Times. Elite colleges said that they had made progress on diversity and equality of access since the study was completed in 2015. 'We believe that talent exists in every sector of the American income distribution,' said Christopher Eisgruber, the president of Princeton University. 'I am proud of what we have done to increase socio-economic diversity at Princeton, but I also believe that we need to do more – and we will do more.'){kind=link}
Harvard economists find wealth represents a form of ‘affirmative action’ that aids US college applicants from richest 1 per cent
Children from the very richest families are more than twice as likely to get into elite American universities than other applicants with similar academic records, a study has found.
A group of Harvard economists found wealth was a key factor in deciding college admissions after examining several hundred thousand applications made to 12 of America’s top academic institutions, including eight Ivy League universities.
They found that children from the wealthiest 1 per cent of families were 34 per cent more likely to be admitted than the average applicant, and the chances of the offspring of the richest 0.1 per cent were 220 per cent greater.
Researchers said the practice amounted to “affirmative action” for the children of parents with an annual income of at least $611,000 (£477,000).