All the White Sons Go to Harvard

Contrary to what you might’ve seen in informational pamphlets, a lot of white people go to Harvard. And many of them got there because of sweet, sweet nepotism.

According to a study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research as reported by NBC News, “43 percent of white students admitted to Harvard University were recruited athletes, legacy students, children of faculty and staff, or on the dean’s interest list—applicants whose parents or relatives have donated to Harvard.” That’s a lot of favoritism!

Not only that, but apparently 75 percent of those white students would’ve been rejected from Harvard had they not fallen into one of those categories. Seems super cool and totally just. Comparatively, less than 16 percent of black, Latinx and Asian student populations, each, come from one of the aforementioned groups.

The abstract of the study suggests that, “removing preferences for athletes and legacies would significantly alter the racial distribution of admitted students, with the share of white admits falling and all other groups rising or remaining unchanged.” Ain’t that the truth?

The good news is that if you’re white and connected at Harvard, you may be a shoo-in. The good news for everyone else is that college doesn’t really matter. The bad news is that college does sometimes matter in the job market.