‘MIT has no history of success bias in its enrollment, ’ director says
New files in a lawsuit originally filed against 17 institutions allege children from rich and well-connected people receive preferential treatment in the admissions method at some elite colleges.
The complaint alleges that students globally have lost millions of dollars through cruel enrollment and financial support methods. It claims the institutions violated “the antitrust laws of the United States, ” “artificially reduced fiscal aid, ” and “systematically increased the online education costs paid by over 200,000 kids. ”
Some universities named in the petition now have settled, and an attorney in the case urged the others to do the same.
Attorney Bob Gilbert wrote in a statement sent to The College Fix, “It is much past time for the President and Trustees of the five remaining Defendants—Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, Notre Dame, and Penn—to stand up suddenly, do the correct thing, and substitute their students and alumni for the large charges that occurred while their assets were skyrocketing. ”
“[ T]he papers offer a unique look at the often key deliberations of college heads and admittance officials. They show how schools admit then incompetent rich children because their parents have relationships and may possibly donate large sums down the line, raising concerns about fairness, ” the Associated Press reported.
In a 2018 internet, for example, the professor of admittance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stated the school had admitted four out of six candidates recommended by then-board president Robert Millard.
The professor said two of these admitted candidates “would not have been admitted then, ” while the other two were rejected because they were “not within collection, or the proposal from Millard was not as robust. ”
However, the institutions are denying claims of success bias.
MIT director Kimberly Allen told The College Fix “The Institute protects the precision and independence of its enrollment approach and believes the claims in this case are false … MIT has no record of success bias in its admissions. ”
Further, the spokesperson said MIT “will continue to defend against them vigorously and will address the current motion by plaintiffs in detail in our filing in court this month. ”
MORE: Colleges aim to increase enrollment by admitting students who did n’t apply
Financial aid records from MIT also show that “for years the Institute has spent over$ 100 million annually on financial aid to meet 100 % of each family ’s demonstrated need, ” Allen told The Fix.
This year alone, MIT spent$ 167 million in financial aid, providing assistance to 60 % of undergraduates. Moreover, 87 % of the students who recently graduated left MIT debt-free, she said.
There was only “a single instance ” presented where “the recommendation of a board member helped sway the decisions for two undergraduate applicants, ” Allen said.
Similarly, Georgetown University’s admissions page states that students ’ “need for financial assistance does not impact your chances of admission. ”
However, the new court filings show that Georgetown’s former president added a prospective student to his “president’s list ” after meeting her and her affluent father, AP News reported.
But the school also denied engaging in favoritism in a statement to The Georgetown Voice.
A university spokesperson “denied any wrongdoing and maintained that Georgetown does not consider applicant wealth or family donations in the admissions process, ” the article states.
“Per university policy, Georgetown does not knowingly solicit or accept gifts from individuals who have or may soon have a relative or person of close personal interest applying for admission to the university, ” the spokesperson said.
The Fix attempted to contact Georgetown through email several times over the last couple weeks and once via phone, but received no reply.
Notre Dame and Penn also denied the lawsuit’s claims.
“Plaintiffs ’ whole case is an attempt to embarrass the University about its purported admission practices on issues totally unrelated to this case, ” a statement from Penn reads, according to AP News.
Notre Dame officials said in a statement they are “confident that every student admitted to Notre Dame is fully qualified and ready to succeed. ”
Since the lawsuit began in January 2022, ten of the schools have reached settlements totaling$ 284 million. The schools include the University of Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt, Yale, and Brown Universities.
California Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins are working on a settlement currently. If approved, the addition of these schools would bring the total settlements to$ 320 million, according to Gilbert Litigators who represent the plaintiffs.
MORE: College affirms women-only admissions policy despite ‘transphobic’ accusations
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