WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump attempts to reshape college admissions, he promises a new era of fairness with an emphasis on merit and test scores and a blind eye toward diversity.

Yet the Republican president has been silent on admissions policies that give applicants a boost because of their wealth or family ties. While he pressed colleges to eliminate consideration of a student's race, he made no mention of legacy admissions, an edge given to the children of alumni, or similar preferences for relatives of donors.

Trump often rails against systems he describes as "rigged," but he overlooked a glaring instance in higher education, said Richard Kahlenberg, a researcher at the Progressive Policy Institute think tank who has written about admissions.

"It's hard to think of a more

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