3 Prestigious US Universities Sue Ivy League Graduates
"Cut Low-Income Subsidies, Favor Wealthy Students"
"Extra Points for Major Donors" vs "Fair Selection"
A controversy has arisen over prestigious universities in the United States admitting freshmen based on donations rather than academic performance. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 17th (local time) that the plaintiffs submitted admissions review documents from the University of Notre Dame, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Georgetown University as evidence in an ongoing lawsuit regarding preferential admissions at the Chicago Federal Court.
Five graduates from the Ivy League, a group of prestigious private universities in the northeastern U.S., filed a damages lawsuit in January 2022 against 16 universities, including these three, claiming that "while financial aid for low-income students at prestigious private universities was drastically reduced, wealthy students were admitted through unfair preferential treatment." Among them, 13 universities, including Columbia University and Yale University, have admitted to some facts and have either reformed related policies or reached settlements with the plaintiffs.
The remaining three universities have not settled and are continuing the lawsuit. According to the plaintiffs, a member of the University of Notre Dame’s admissions committee reportedly told fellow committee members a few years ago, after the selection of freshmen for the following year was completed, "I hope there will be more children of major donors next year." This indicates that the number of freshmen from wealthy backgrounds was considered too low. Furthermore, it was revealed that Notre Dame admitted 86 children of major donors in the 2016 freshman selection and awarded bonus points to 76% of all donor children.
Additionally, an admissions committee member at MIT reportedly granted admission by giving bonus points to two children of a millionaire business partner. At Georgetown University, the president was known to have conducted admissions reviews based on the size and history of parental donations rather than SAT scores (the U.S. college entrance exam) and academic performance. The plaintiffs argued, "The more elite the private university, the higher the chances of admission for applicants who detailed their parents’ wealth, education, and donation amounts on their applications compared to students from middle- or low-income backgrounds."
However, these three universities stated, "We have fairly selected freshmen based on objective admissions criteria," and drew a line by saying, "We will reveal the truth in court without settling with the plaintiffs."
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