Nepotism and Corruption in America - Legacy Admissions

The Shame Deficit
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/04/ban-legacy-college-admissions-nepotism/629566/
As a transplant from England, I’ve been repeatedly struck by the weakness of norms against nepotism in the American elite—particularly the continued practice of legacy admissions. 

Richard Reeves notes:
“What’s needed here is a change in social norms. Many upper-middle-class parents feel little compunction about pulling every string possible to get their offspring a place at a prestigious college, even if that means elbowing out a more qualified but less fortunate applicant. The prevailing norm in the U.S. is that parents should do everything possible to help their children get ahead of others. This doesn’t have to be ethical. It just has to be legal.
The only mistake made by the parents caught in Operation Varsity Blues was to cross that line, a line that Andrew Lelling, the Massachusetts U.S. district attorney prosecuting the case, helpfully drew for us. “We’re not talking about donating a building so the school is more likely to take your son or daughter,” he said. “We’re talking about deception and fraud, fake test scores, fake athletic credentials, fake photographs, and bribed college officials.” It’s okay to get your child a place by making a donation, just not with a bribe. In 1998, the real-estate developer Charles Kushner gave $2.5 million to Harvard; in 1999, his son Jared was accepted to the college, even though, as the journalist Daniel Golden reported, Jared’s academic record was less than stellar. No problem. It is absolutely fine for your kids to get preferential treatment if you attended the college in question”.