Some prospective clients, when they come to us seeking Ivy Coach’s college admissions counseling, say something along the lines of, “My child is a white male…” What they say after those first few words can vary, but the implication of their initial words remains the same: they believe their child — as a white male — is navigating the elite college admissions process with an arm tied behind their back. Allow us to debunk this misconception once and for all.

The Tired Argument of Anti-White Discrimination in Elite College Admissions

Before we dismantle the argument that white males are at a disadvantage in the elite college admissions process, we thought we’d delineate the tired points that parents often make to try to substantiate the notion that white males face discrimination in the process. Typically, these parents’ points are as follows:

• Whites are disadvantaged in admissions. Affirmative Action, which was lawful until the United States Supreme Court outlawed the practice in 2023, offered preferential treatment to underrepresented minority applicants, including Black, Latino, and Native American students. And even though Affirmative Action was ruled unlawful in 2023, underrepresented minorities can still enjoy an advantage in the admissions process as our nation’s colleges are legally taking advantage of Chief Justice Roberts’ loophole that allows applicants to write about how their race has impacted who they are. With these underrepresented minority students getting a leg up, those who argue that white students face discrimination in admissions often feel the latter group is left behind.
• Males are disadvantaged in admissions. Even in 2024, years after the #MeToo movement entered the national conversation, males dominate the executive suites of most Fortune 500 companies. America’s political leadership is overwhelmingly male. Men still, on average, make more than women. Those who argue that male students face discrimination in admissions thus often feel that liberal admissions officers — and, yes, it’s true that admissions officers overwhelmingly skew liberal — offer preferential treatment to female applicants over their counterparts.

Why the Argument of Anti-White Discrimination in Elite College Admissions Lacks Merit

In 2019, Keith Payne wrote a piece for Scientific American that focused on the alleged anti-white discrimination in elite college admissions. As he wrote, “A friend complained to me recently that his son wasn’t getting into Ivy League colleges because it’s so hard for a middle-class white kid to be admitted, even with straight A’s. I asked if the advantages of being a middle-class white kid might be part of the reason his son had become a straight-A student in the first place. It got awkward.” 

Amen, Mr. Payne. So, let’s make things more awkward for these parents who love to toss around those tired “my child is a white male…” words by shredding their argument in pieces. Their argument, after all, holds no water for the following reasons:

• Many white applicants enjoy a leg up in elite college admissions since so many slots are reserved for legacies, development cases, and recruited athletes. The legacy pool, applicants who are the progeny of a school’s alumni base, remains overwhelmingly white in 2024, and it’s not uncommon for 20-25% of a top school’s Early Decision/Action admits to be legacies. Development cases, applicants whose family members have made major donations to a university, also skew heavily white. And recruited athletes, students who compete on teams like squash, swimming and diving, water polo, golf, field hockey, etc., are overwhelmingly white, too. These students — legacies, development cases, and recruited athletes — are earmarked such a significant portion of seats in each incoming class at top universities, seats that are so often off the table for underrepresented minority applicants.
• It’s easier for males to earn admission to America’s elite universities than females by virtue of the disproportionate number of female applicants. Most of our nation’s top universities receive significantly more applications from females than males. At some universities, like Brown University and Tulane University, the gender disparity in the applicant pool ratio is almost comical. For the Class of 2026, Brown received 18,939 applications from males and 31,710 from females. And even though Brown’s admissions office isn’t likely to suggest they’ve got a thumb on the scale for men, 1,275 males and 1,287 females were admitted that same year. So, yes, all of our nation’s top schools, including Brown, aim to gender balance their incoming classes. That means it’s easier for males to earn admission than females.

Parents Will Continue to Make the Tired Anti-White Discrimination in Elite College Admissions Argument

But we at Ivy Coach can dismantle the tired white male disadvantage in elite college admissions argument every which way, and parents will still make it year in and year out. No matter how illogical their argument may be, deep down, they believe that their child — and especially if they don’t get in — faced a major hurdle in the process on account of their race and gender. It couldn’t possibly be that they didn’t get in because of anything they’ve done, right?