How to Get Away with Socioeconomically Discriminating Against Low Income Law School Applicants - Critical Corporate Theory Collection

Aug 30, 2026

Standardized tests function as a decisive gatekeeping mechanism in higher education applications and require deeper scrutiny. The paper dismantles the correlation between performance on a corporate-administered standardized test and “merit,” arguing that the linkage primarily reflects access to wealth rather than individual achievement. The analysis focuses on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) administered by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), examining how LSAC’s power operates as a nonprofit within a for-profit-leaning admissions ecosystem.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Problem Description

Current Dominant Narratives

Analysis of the Role of Corporate Power

LSAC’s role in catering to a for-profit industry

U.S. News is a faulty metric for accountability

LSAC’s interests vs. LSAC’s mission statement

LSAC’s Capture

Shareholder Primacy and LSAC’s Stakeholders

Conclusion

Further Reading

Endnotes

How to Get Away with Socioeconomically Discriminating Against Low-Income Law School Applicants Wealth masking as “Merit” Critical Corporate Theory Collection Systemic Justice Journal: Critical Corporate Theory Collection How to get away with socioeconomically discriminating against low income law school applicants Author Kimberly Foreiter HLS ‘22 Acknowledgements This piece is dedicated to the thousands of industrious and resilient first generation, low-income grad school applicants. Your struggles are valid, seen, and heard. The system is broken. Special thanks to Professor Hanson for all of his advice and over a dozen Monday afternoon discussions. All of the laughs shared, lessons taught, and grace given will never be forgotten. I hope to pay forward your kindness in my career. Thankyou for helping me trust myself and become a more confident student. Also special thanks to Dean of HLS admissions, Kristi Jobson, for helping me understand the role ofthe LSAT in law school admissions and for putting into perspective how widely accountability needs to be spread. About the Critical Corporate Theory Collection The Critical Corporate Theory Collection is part of the Systemic Justice Journal, published by the Systemic Justice Project at Harvard Law School. The Collection is comprised of papers that analyze the role of corporate law in systemic injustices. The authors are Harvard Law students who were enrolled in Professor Jon Hanson’s Corporations course in the spring of 2021. The Collection addresses the premise that corporate law is a core underlying cause of most systemic injustices and social problems we face today. Each article explores how corporate law facilitates the creation and maintenance of institutions with tremendous wealth and power and provides those institutions a shared, single interest in capturing institutions, policies, lawmakers, and norms, which in turn further enhance that power and legitimates its unjust effects in producing systems of oppression and exploitation. For more information about the Systemic Justice Journal or to read other articles in the Critical Corporate Theory Collection, please visit the website at [www.systemicjustice.org](www.systemicjustice.org). Systemic Justice Journal: Critical Corporate Theory Collection How to get away with socioeconomically discriminating against low income law school applicants Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION ..............................................2 CURRENT DOMINANT NARRATIVES ............................5 ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF CORPORATE POWER ..... 7 LSAC’s role in catering to a for-profit industry ...................8 U.S. News is a faulty metric for accountability ......................................... 8 LSAC’s interests vs. LSAC’s mission statement ...................9 LSAC’s Capture ................................................................... 10 Shallow Capture ........................................................................................ 10 Deep Capture ........................................................................................... 11 Shareholder Primacy and LSAC’s Stakeholders .............. 12 CONCLUSION ............................................................ 13 The LSAT is just the tip of the “wealth” iceberg ............... 13 FURTHER READING ..................................................... 14 ENDNOTES .................................................................. 15 This paper was first published in July 2021. © 2021. The contents and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author only. Systemic Justice Journal: Critical Corporate Theory Collection How to get away with socioeconomically discriminating against low income law school applicants ABSTRACT Standardized tests are an element of higher education applications that need to be scrutinized m

FAQs

What core claim does the paper make about standardized-test “merit”?

High scores are not treated as a measure of individual accomplishment; the paper argues they primarily measure wealth.

Which standardized test and admissions body does the analysis focus on?

The paper centers on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), administered by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC).

How does the paper explain accountability and LSAC’s power in admissions?

It analyzes LSAC’s corporate power and accountability metrics, contrasting LSAC’s interests with its mission statement and considering corporate capture dynamics.

Aug 30, 2026

Upload by Taylor Morgan