The College Fix

‘MIT has no history of wealth favoritism in its admissions,’ spokesperson says

New filings in a lawsuit initially filed against 17 universities allege children from wealthy and well-connected families receive preferential treatment in the admissions process at some elite colleges.

The lawsuit alleges that students nationwide have lost millions of dollars through unfair admissions and financial aid processes. It claims the schools violated “the antitrust laws of the United States,” “artificially reduced financial aid,” and “systematically increased the net tuition prices paid by over 200,000 students.”

Several universities named in the lawsuit already 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 long past time for the President and Trustees of the five remaining Defendants—Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, Notre Dame, and Penn—to stand up finally, do the right thing, and compensate their students and alumni for the massive overcharges that occurred while their endowments were skyrocketing.”

“[T]he filings offer a rare peek at the often secret deliberations of university heads and admissions officials. They show how schools admit otherwise unqualified wealthy children because their parents have connections and could possibly donate large sums down the line, raising questions about fairness,” the Associated Press reported.

In a 2018 email, for example, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stated the university had admitted four out of six applicants recommended by then-board chairman Robert Millard.

The dean said two of these admitted applicants “would not have been admitted otherwise,” while the other two were rejected because they were “not within range, or the recommendation from Millard was not as strong.”

However, the schools are denying allegations of wealth favoritism.

MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen told The College Fix “The Institute protects the rigor and independence of its admissions process and believes the claims in this case are baseless … MIT has no history of wealth favoritism 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 didn’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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