Harvard University, once known as a place where your grandfather’s name on a library plaque could do more for your application than a Nobel Prize in physics, announced this week that it will no longer grant preferential admission to the children of alumni. In other words, legacy admissions are getting the boot, and suddenly being named Thaddeus Wadsworth III just doesn’t pay the dividends it used to.
This policy change was revealed in a letter to the Department of Education as part of a federal investigation into Harvard’s admissions process. The inquiry, sparked by a complaint from a civil rights group, questioned why the university continued to give special treatment to applicants with deep family ties while simultaneously claiming to support diversity and equal opportunity. Apparently, the fine print on Harvard’s brochure that said “merit-based” was finally taken literally.
Legacy admissions have long been a lightning rod for criticism, partly because they tend to favor students from wealthier and often less diverse backgrounds, and partly because it’s hard to keep a straight face while saying “equal access” next to “grandfather clause.” Still, the policy persisted for decades, largely defended as a way to maintain community ties and encourage alumni donations. It turns out, however, that institutional loyalty makes a less compelling case when federal investigators arrive with spreadsheets.
Harvard officials, in a tone polished over centuries of rowing metaphors and Latin mottos, clarified that the decision to drop legacy preferences actually took effect in early 2023. The fact that no one noticed may suggest just how clandestine the process is to begin with. Perhaps even more thrilling, the university added that it had also dropped preferential treatment for the children of donors, effectively closing the door to the “My dad sponsored the science building” club as well.
Meanwhile, critics are cautiously optimistic. Some have called the move a step toward fairness in elite college admissions, while others remain skeptical about how deeply change can take root in an institution that predates the concept of electricity. The real test will come in the next few years, when admissions data will show whether this policy shift leads to a student body selected more by merit and less by family tree.
Of course, some are mourning the demise of an old-world tradition where family connections meant more than GPA or extracurriculars, but as it turns out, Harvard may be just fine without reserving spots for Chadwick’s cousins.
After all, it seems that even at Harvard, bloodlines are no longer accepted as extra credit.