Lawsuit Exposes Wealth-Based Bias in Elite College Admissions

New court filings reveal preferential treatment for children of wealthy donors at top universities, sparking allegations of inequity and antitrust violations.

A lawsuit accuses 17 elite universities of colluding to reduce financial aid for less affluent students, with $685 million in alleged damages sought.
Evidence shows institutions like Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Penn gave admissions advantages to applicants tied to major donors or influential connections.
Georgetown maintained a 'President's List' of wealthy applicants, often marked with 'Please Admit,' while Notre Dame admitted 86 donor-connected students in 2020 alone.
Former Penn and MIT officials testified about institutional practices favoring donor-linked applicants, despite denials from the universities involved.
Ten schools have already settled for a total of $284 million, while five institutions, including MIT, Notre Dame, and Cornell, continue to fight the allegations in court.

The Philadelphia Inquirer