by Dick Hall-Sizemore
It turns out that, when it comes to admission to elite universities, kids from rich families have not only the advantages that are inherent with their background — top prep schools, tutors, an upbringing full of varied experiences, etc.— they have one more advantage — simply being rich.
A recently released study shows that in applicant pools for the Ivy League universities, Stanford, Duke, M.I.T., and the University of Chicago, of those applicants with the same SAT or ACT scores, those from families in the top 1 percent income bracket were 34% more likely to be admitted. Those from families in the top 0.1 percent were twice as likely to be admitted.
All the celebrating over the recent Supreme Court decisions amid declarations that “admission should be based on merit” may have been premature. Those decisions may just result in more rich White kids getting admitted.
