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Carleton College eliminated its legacy admissions policy Thursday.
In an email to students, faculty and alumni, college president Alison Byerly cited the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action, saying it reinvigorated debate around legacy admissions and prompted reflection among Carleton administrators.
“We believe that our goal of expanding access makes this the right time to discontinue legacy preference,” she wrote. “We do recognize that this change may be disappointing to alumni with children who will soon be reaching college age, especially alumni of color who are better represented in today’s parental cohorts than was the case decades ago.”
In recent years, between 6 and 9 percent of students typically had parents who graduated from Carleton, Byerly added.
The private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minn., joins a small but growing list of institutions doing away with alumni preferences in the wake of the affirmative action ban, including Virginia Tech, Occidental College and Wesleyan University, in addition to Carleton’s in-state neighbor the University of Minnesota.
