来源：《卫报》
原文刊登日期：2021年11月17日
本文适合2023考生
Ever wondered what it takes to get into Harvard? Stellar grades, impressive extracurriculars and based on a recently published study, having deep pockets and a parent who either works or went there. Those last two are pretty important for Harvard’s white students because only about 57% of them were admitted to the school based on merit.
想知道进入哈佛需要什么吗？优异的成绩，令人印象深刻的课外活动，根据最近发表的一项研究，有雄厚的财力，父母不是在那里工作就是在那里上过学。最后两项对哈佛的白人学生来说非常重要，因为他们中只有57%的人是因自身优秀被录取的。
In reality, 43% of Harvard’s white students are either recruited athletes, legacy students, on the dean’s interest list (meaning their parents have donated to the school) or children of faculty and staff (students admitted based on these criteria are referred to as ‘ALDCs’, which stands for ‘athletes’, ‘legacies’, ‘dean’s interest list’ and ‘children’ of Harvard employees). Roughly three-quarters of these applicants would have been rejected if it weren’t for having rich or Harvard-connected parents or being an athlete.
事实上，43%的哈佛白人学生要么是被招募的运动员，要么是校友后代，要么是院长兴趣名单上的学生（意味着他们的父母已经向学校捐款），要么是教职员工的子女（根据这些标准录取的学生被称为“ALDC”，代表“运动员”、“校友后代”、“院长兴趣名单”和哈佛员工的“子女”）。如果不是因为父母有钱或有哈佛背景，或者是运动员，这些申请者中大约有四分之三会被拒绝。
Here’s the thing– Harvard is insanely competitive. The admittance rate for the class of 2025 was 3.43%, the lowest rate in the school’s history, in a year that saw an unprecedented surge in applications. But as more and more comes to light about Harvard’s admissions process, it’s clear that the school’s competitiveness is not just based on academic strength or great test scores, but also whether or not your parents or grandparents have donated significantly to the school.
事情是这样的——哈佛的竞争非常激烈。在申请人数空前激增的一年里，2025届的录取率为3.43%，是该校历史上最低的录取率。但随着哈佛大学的招生过程越来越为人所知，很明显，这所学校的竞争力不仅仅取决于学术实力或出色的考试成绩，还取决于你的父母或祖父母是否向学校捐赠了大量资金。
This dynamic is inherently racialized, with almost 70% of all legacy applicants at Harvard being white. According to the study, a white person’s chances of being admitted increased seven times if they had family who donated to Harvard. Meanwhile in stark contrast, African American, Asian American and Hispanic students make up less than 16% of ALDC students.
这种动态在本质上是种族化的，在哈佛的所有遗产申请者中，几乎70%是白人。根据这项研究，如果一个白人的家人向哈佛大学捐款，他被录取的几率会增加7倍。与此形成鲜明对比的是，非裔美国人、亚裔美国人和西班牙裔学生在ALDC学生中所占比例不到16%。
This kind of systemic favoritism of the white, wealthy and connected is not new when it comes to elite academic institutions. It’s always been a bit of a rigged game, one that overwhelmingly favors rich white people.
在精英学术机构中，这种对白人、富人和有关系的人的系统性偏袒并不新鲜。这一直是一个被操纵的游戏，一个压倒性地偏向富有的白人的游戏。
Take the 2019 college admissions scandal for example. Dozens of wealthy people attempted to pay their children’s way into legacy institutions such as Stanford and Yale. These parents paid thousands of dollars to get people to take tests for their children, bribe test administrators and bribe college coaches to identify their children as great athletes. Fifty people were ultimately charged in the scandal.
以2019年的大学招生丑闻为例。数十名富人试图花钱让子女进入斯坦福大学和耶鲁大学等名校。这些家长花了数千美元让枪手替他们的孩子参加考试，贿赂考试管理人员和大学教练，让教练认定他们的孩子是伟大的运动员。在这起丑闻中，有50人最终被起诉。
Harvard and other schools like it have long been venerated as hallowed spaces where only the best and brightest minds are granted access – and many young people still see it as such. The reality, though, is very different. These are supposed to be the biggest geniuses on the planet, yet the school halls are filled with the progeny of the privileged who wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for their connections and money. That’s not a whole lot to aspire to.
长期以来，哈佛和其他类似的学校一直被尊为神圣之地，只有最优秀、最聪明的人才能进入这里——许多年轻人仍然这样认为。然而，现实却截然不同。他们被认为是地球上最伟大的天才，但学校大厅里却挤满了特权阶级的后代，如果不是因为关系和金钱，他们不会出现在这里。哈佛并不是什么值得追求的东西。