When it comes to admissions to elite schools, money can all but guarantee access to those who can afford it. This week's college admissions fraud scandal, which has ensnared dozens of wealthy and famous Americans, is an act of pure, if unintentional, parody. While the process was exaggerated to a comical extent, the reality is that legal pay for play in admissions is as routine as it is unfair.
Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, said: 'The bribing of coaches by wealthy individuals is really just a more blatant example of what goes on all the time.' He added that 'the same type of bribe goes on between wealthy individuals and institutions every day of the week.' At five different Ivy League schools, more students came from the top 1% of the income scale than from the entire bottom 60%.
Take Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior aide, who was admitted to Harvard after his father made a $2.5m donation to the school, despite the younger Kushner's 'less than stellar' high school academic record. Daniel Golden exposed this in his 2006 book The Price of Admission, finding that among a committee culled from Harvard's 400 biggest givers, fully half the big donors had a child enrolled at the school. Kushner has denied that his acceptance had anything to do with the donation.
Another common practice is legacy admissions, whereby applicants with family ties to a university are given preferential treatment. A 2011 study found that legacy status accounted for a more than threefold increase in acceptance. Kahlenberg calls legacy admissions a form of 'legalized bribery', noting that universities especially extend those considerations to alumni who donate.
Wealthy students also benefit from the influence of athletics. A 2002 study found that the advantage conferred by playing a sport exceeded that provided by legacy status or minority background. Kirsten Hextrum, an associate professor of education at the University of Oklahoma, said: 'The time, effort and money involved in becoming a high level athlete actually requires a lot of resources.' That's especially true for sports like rowing.
