It used to be that the controversial college admissions policies that got the most attention had to do with skin or scores. But the one unspoken policy that has been overlooked for decades is the nod-nod-wink-wink influence of privilege.

As undergraduate admission grows increasingly competitive, the impact of legacy status on admission decisions has raised questions about what role it should play in the admission process.

One-thousand, nine-hundred, forty-eight high school students were admitted into America’s most exclusive club Monday. They were selected from a pool of 27,462 students that included more than 2,500 students with perfect SAT critical reading scores, more than 3,300 with perfect SAT math scores and more than 3,300 students who were ranked first in their class. They were among the 7.1 percent of applicants admitted this year - another record-breakingly low percentage.

Getting into a top college is becoming even more competitive, as Ivy League schools and other selective universities announced their admissions decisions for the Class of 2012.

A bill that would prohibit the enrollment of illegal immigrants in Missouri colleges and universities was sent to the Missouri Senate last week after passing in the House of Representatives earlier this month.

This decision is a default rejection of some students who may have proven to be among Harvard’s best, both for this year and many years to come, undermining the many recent admissions initiatives with the explicit purpose of attracting the strongest, most diverse, and most interesting students as possible.