United States Department of Education investigates Harvard graduate relatives' priority

Harvard University's admissions process, which often grants preference to white, legacy applicants, came under scrutiny again in June after the Supreme Court's decision against affirmative action in college admissions.

On July 3, the group "Lawyers for Civil Rights" filed a complaint on behalf of Black and Latinx community groups in the New England region, alleging that applicants with connections to Harvard alumni had a 7 times higher likelihood of admission and can make up about one-third of a class, with 70% of these students being white.

In their statement, the group emphasized that due to the reserved spots for legacy and donor applicants, highly qualified non-white applicants who rightfully deserve admission to Harvard were being harmed.

The statement further highlighted that these privileged applicants were not evaluated based on merit, but rather benefit from an "unfair advantage" obtained solely due to their family background.

The US Department of Education confirmed that it was investigating the allegations that Harvard engages in "racial discrimination" in its undergraduate admissions process regarding legacy and donor connections.

Harvard University issued a statement, stating that its admission policies were being reviewed for compliance with the law, following the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action. They stressed their commitment to increasing efforts to encourage applications from students with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Wesleyan University in Connecticut had recently announced the end of their policy granting preferenceto applicants with familial ties to the school.

In the recent years, colleges such as Amherst College in Massachusetts, Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland had also revised their admission policies to eliminate preference for legacy applicants.