My father graduated from Harvard in 1950. He was not a shining intellect, but my grandfather was. My grandfather was a chemist who worked on the Manhattan project. When my father shipped off to the Navy, my grandfather called Harvard’s admissions office to make sure my father’s spot would remain when he returned. They assured him it would be no problem. Using money and influence to secure spots in the ivy league is nothing new under the sun... regardless of what political party you hail from.
Harvard loves legacy kids and celebrities like no other school.
Yes. Nothing merits more consideration in academe’s merit system than a nice big Meritorious contribution.