hari: the university says wesleyan's rate of acceptance for children of alumni has always been under 10%. but other analyses have found some elite schools have much wider gaps between legacy applicants and other applicants. a civil complaint that was filed against harvard claimed legacy applicants were nearly six times more likely to be admitted compared to non-legacy applicants. and this summer, a new analysis of several elite schools found children of alumni were nearly four times as likely to be admitted as applicants with the same test scores. hari: what is the kind of general or status quo thinking about legacies in the first place today? if it's not about giving your offspring a leg up. michael roth: i do think there's the crass version and then there's the cultural version. the crass version is people are much more likely to donate if their children get in. many children get in because they're the children of alumni. hari: the end of affirmative action has made the application process even more intense for many students. but because in his opinion, chief justice john roberts w

she went to wesleyan university in connecticut, the first in her family to graduate college. it was not easy getting there. >> when you're a first generation low income student, there is always a block where every single time you get ahead, there is something you do not know, something you have to learn, another roadblock to overcome. >> reporter: one of those roadblocks, racial discrimination, something hermina says she has had to deal with her entire life. >> because i have an intersectional identity, i had an afro-latina woman, a woman, a woman of color, i carry all those identities, and with me, i carry experiences, throughout college, different implement opportunities, in different spaces, i have to experience adversity because of that. >> she credits students rising above for helping her navigate each step of her academic and professional life. >> they have always been an extremely nonjudgmental and actionable resource for me in my life. every time i needed food in college and a flight home, or new technology, a computer, a textbook, anything i needed in college, studen

i actually had someone of former students cleo anthony johnson of wesleyan university sharing some his work and imploring us to read period i's american indian educational history so that the boarding schools aren't seen as the beginnings of this essentially child removal program and that even throughout the colonial and not just antebellum, but pre-dating the revolution a missionary schools or mission schools were established throughout new england that this form of benevolence, that ultimately extend to pre existing anglophone and european continental programs, of educating minor children away from they're either poor or ethnically diverse. irish kind of families so that they could become incorporated into a more anglophone, protestant and christianize. so that's really achieving a visit to the reservation and a trip to a little sphere. didn't see the irony of putting those two titles in one, and she was horrified that these beautiful children had reverted to their ways, starting speaking their own language. i mean, she was just horrified that. her good works had gone to naught. we h

she went to wesleyan university in connecticut. the first in her family to graduate from college.easy getting there >> when you are a first-generation, low income student, there is always a block. every single time you get ahead , there is something that you don't know. there is something that you have to learn or another roadblock you have to overcome. >> reporter: one of the roblox is racial discrimination. something she said she has had to deal with her whole life . >> because i have an intersectional identity, i carry all the identities and with me i carry experiences. i feel like throughout college, different employment opportunities, and in different spaces i have had to experience adversity because of that. >> reporter: she credits students rising above for helping her navigate each step in her academic and professional life . >> they have always been an extremely nonjudgmental and actionable resource for me in my life. anytime i needed food in college or a flight home or new technology, a computer, a textbook, anything i needed in college, students rising above supported m

hari: both sarah lawrence and wesleyan are highly selective small schools with fewer than 5000 studentsow will other universities handle change again missions criteria? under secretary of education james says it is a challenging time for the entire higher education system. >> one of the things we saw in the states that banned the use of race in admissions was a change in who was applying to all types of colleges, not just the most selective colleges. it is important for students to continue to aspire because even our most selective campuses, all types of students belong there. it is important for all types of colleges and universities to have a plan for how they will react to the changing landscape. hari: he has noticed leaders in higher education are being proactive. >> i have seen a renewed sense of urgency about trying to build an inclusive higher education system. there is not going to be a single silver bullet. there is a lot of work to do across-the-board. hari: it is work universities and colleges will have to embrace in order to navigate the changing landscape. for the pbs newsh