this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2024
164 points (98.8% liked)

Political Memes

5483 readers
2138 users here now

Welcome to politcal memes!

These are our rules:

Be civilJokes are okay, but don’t intentionally harass or disturb any member of our community. Sexism, racism and bigotry are not allowed. Good faith argumentation only. No posts discouraging people to vote or shaming people for voting.

No misinformationDon’t post any intentional misinformation. When asked by mods, provide sources for any claims you make.

Posts should be memesRandom pictures do not qualify as memes. Relevance to politics is required.

No bots, spam or self-promotionFollow instance rules, ask for your bot to be allowed on this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Context:

How wealth and legacy status impact admissions

Michelle Obama's speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention

Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation. Not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service, and always pushing the doors of opportunity open to others.

She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] silence7@slrpnk.net 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

That's usually "I hire my relatives" not "I admit the kids of rich people" — the admissions officers are not generally relatives of the rich.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

https://www.ninertimes.com/opinion/opinion-legacy-students-threaten-to-limit-other-students-academic-success/article_47421d3a-b6dd-11ed-b2ba-0f3a33fd7ae5.html

"Academic admissions preference policies have been in the public eye for the last few years. It is known that being a legacy student, meaning that the applicant's family has strong family ties to the university, gives a significant advantage when it comes to applying to highly selective institutions. It has been in practice by top institutions since the 1920s. 

Looking at the numbers, calling it a "big advantage" hardly seems to do it quantifiable justice. For example, Harvard has an acceptance rate of under 6%. However, if it were a legacy student applying, their odds of admissions jump to 33%."

[–] silence7@slrpnk.net 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

And that's why the top-level post was looking exclusively at admission rates for non-legacies, who also get a huge advantage from having rich parents

[–] DecaturNature@yall.theatl.social 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Rich folk are also good at gaming all the other criteria (varsity sports, extracurricular achievements). "opportunity hoarding" I think is the term that's been used, or resume padding. It's also about being able to pay full tuition.