Michelle Obama and Legacy Admissions 

With Remarks on Affirmative Action, Michelle Obama Weighs in on Legacy Admissions  

Michelle Obama reminded America that most people “will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.” Yet, at Harvard and many other colleges, 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 don’t typically see themselves reflected in Harvard. 

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.

Lawyers for Civil Rights is deeply committed to holding Harvard accountable through the civil rights complaint we filed, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action, to eliminate donor and legacy preferences. In the past year, all Harvard has done is to make a vague statement that eliminating legacy preferences is “one of the things that’s under consideration.”  But there have been no changes, and now the first post-affirmative action class is about to start classes on September 3, 2024. Harvard has also refused to release any information about the incoming class, saying that demographic information “is not yet available to share.” 

Lawyers for Civil Rights calls for colleges and universities to voluntarily eliminate legacy and donor preferences and to cultivate a more just and equitable admissions process for all students, particularly low-income students and students of color. If schools are 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.