Last week, the U.S. Education Department launched a civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s legacy and donor admissions policies, which give preferential treatment to certain students who come from families of alumni or who donate to the school.

Researchers from Harvard and Brown also released a study, which finds that that students from the highest income 0.1% of American households are more than twice as likely to gain admission to highly selective or elite colleges and universities compared to children from lower-income households with similar test scores. The study also finds that legacy preferences play an important role in that disparity.

WBUR Education Reporter Max Larkin joins The Common with more on the growing conversation around legacy admission policies.

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