Harvard professor Arthur Brooks joins ‘Varney & Co.,’ to discuss Jewish students filing lawsuits against the school, political views on college campuses, and his new book, ‘Build the Life You Want.’
A lawsuit accusing universities of colluding to determine student financial aid packages offers a glimpse into the ways in which top schools evaluate privileged children differently than all applicants.
At Georgetown University, the former president chose students from a special admissions list based on their parents’ contribution history, not their transcripts, according to the suit. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a board member convinced the school to accept two applicants who were the children of a wealthy business associate, the lawsuit said. And at Notre Dame, the enrollment officer in charge of the list of special applicants wrote to others, “I sure hope the rich next year raise a few smart kids!”, according to the suit.
The motion, filed Tuesday in Illinois federal court, is the latest in a lawsuit that began in January 2022. The plaintiffs, who were students, initially accused more than a dozen universities of price-fixing. Twelve schools have been established. Tuesday’s motion seeks class action status against the remaining five schools: MIT, Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown and Cornell University.
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University of Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Indiana. (iStock / Stock)
For families involved in the college application process and facing ongoing challenges to win admission to high schools, records show allegations that colleges have different levels of success for children.
At Notre Dame, the university’s Institutional Risk and Compliance Committee said the admission of so many children of major donors must put the institution’s reputation at risk if it were to become public, according to the proposal. In 2020, the school accepted 86 applications that were linked to major donors, or about 4% of the incoming class. Of that group, 76% of those admitted needed special consideration for admission, the proposal said.
Speaking about the class of 2016, Donald Bishop, then vice president of undergraduate enrollment, noted a drop in the top 30 students at the same time the donor list was used.
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“We allowed their top gifts or gifts that could influence our choices more this year than last year,” Bishop said in a 2012 email provided in the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Georgetown, Notre Dame and MIT said the schools plan to fight the case in court and that all of their students will receive their seats. A Notre Dame spokesperson said the school is confident “every student admitted to Notre Dame is fully qualified and prepared to succeed.”
The Georgetown University campus is shown on March 12, 2019, in Washington, DC (Wina McNamee/Getty Images/Getty Images)
It’s a difficult time for top universities, which have become victims of growing public frustration. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to investigate the internal workings of universities and high school taxes.
Some of the anger directed at the nation’s high schools stems from perceived hypocrisy.
Elite universities often present themselves as prestigious universities that admit the best and brightest. The proposal filed Tuesday, which stems from years of speech at special gatherings, filings and internal university reports, shows officials are bowing to financial pressure to admit wealthy students over talented students.
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Findings in a separate court case about race-based college admissions revealed that Harvard University had a “Z” list, a route through which weak applicants, but rich or connected, could gain admission.
A view of the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images / Getty Images)
In the past few years several schools, including Amherst College, have dropped legacy admissions. Additionally, many states, including California, have banned the practice.
Inside the suit
Tuesday’s filing seeks class action certification and asks for $685 million in damages. If awarded, that figure could triple to more than $2 billion under US antitrust laws. Ten schools including Dartmouth College, Northwestern University and Rice University paid a total of $284 million, while two others were paid undisclosed amounts.
The College Green on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, US, on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The lawsuit includes testimony from Sara Harberson, Penn’s director of admissions from 1999 to 2008, who was recused from the lawsuit in October 2023. She said the school has a “bona fide special interest” tag for students from large families. donors or acquaintances on the board of trustees.
Those students are guaranteed admission.
If a school was oversubscribed, they were protected, regardless of their academic record. “You were powerless as an admissions officer,” Harbson said in his introduction.
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A Penn spokesman said he saw no merit in the case.
“The factual evidence in this case makes it clear that Penn does not favor admitted students whose families have made or promised to donate to Penn, regardless of the amount,” the spokesperson said.
At Georgetown, the former president selected students from the annual president’s list after reviewing information about parental contribution history and strengths, but without reviewing the applicant’s transcripts, teacher recommendations or personal essays. At the top of the list he used to write “Please Agree,” according to the movement.
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