The Single Biggest Fix for Inequality at Elite Colleges

Legacy admissions are in trouble. Applicants from the richest one percent of families are to be admitted to elite Ivy Plus colleges than similarly qualified low- or middle-class applicants, and many of these privileged students benefit from being the children of alumni or donors. Left-leaning groups recently filed a lawsuit challenging legacy admissions on civil-rights grounds, the Department of Education has announced an investigation into the practice, and, last month, the Republican Todd Young and the Democrat Tim Kaine introduced a Senate that would effectively ban it. The preference for legacy applicants may be the most visible symbol of unearned intergenerational