Harvard’s Black Enrollment Drops

Harvard’s Black Student Enrollment Dips While Legacy Admissions Remain in Place

As Harvard joins the ranks of elite colleges and universities reporting declining enrollment of Black students following the U.S. Supreme Court’s anti-affirmative action decision, a key question remains: Why does Harvard continue to cling to unfair donor and legacy preferences? The number of Black first-year students enrolling at Harvard this fall dipped by 4% (down to 14% compared to 18% last year). Similar trends are being reported across the board and are impacting Black student enrollment and access to opportunity. 

Still, at Harvard, legacy and donor preferences in the admissions process remain firmly in place. This preferential treatment overwhelmingly privileges wealth and status over individual achievement and academic merit. Legacy preferences must be eliminated to help foster greater access to educational opportunities, particularly for students from communities that see themselves as increasingly underrepresented in higher education.

Harvard’s silence on this issue is deafening. In the last year, as scores of other elite institutions have jettisoned donor and legacy preferences, all Harvard has done is issue a vague statement saying that this change to its admissions policy is “one of the things that’s under consideration.”

At Harvard, nearly 70% of legacy and donor-related applicants are white, and they receive a substantial boost based on their wealth, family ties, and status. They are 6 to 7 times more likely to be admitted. Nearly one-third of Harvard students are legacies. Year after year, qualified and highly deserving applicants are rejected and harmed because admissions slots are unfairly awarded to applicants with ties to alumni and wealthy donors. This is not merit-based. This is an undeserved privilege. And this is undemocratic and discriminatory.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action, Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a civil rights complaint to eliminate donor and legacy preferences, which serves as affirmative action for the wealthy. Harvard should be leading the way on this issue, not lagging behind and staying silent. Is bolstering its $50 billion endowment so critical to Harvard that it would prioritize overwhelmingly white students, whose primary qualifications are wealth or family connections, over highly qualified Black applicants? If Harvard remains resistant to change, the federal government must hold them accountable. Now is the time to end affirmative action for the rich. 

Learn more about LCR’s complaint against Harvard here.