10 Myths About Legacy College Admissions

The Chronicle of Higher Education:

Legacy preferences, which provide a leg up in college admissions to applicants who are the offspring of alumni, are employed at almost three-quarters of selective research universities and virtually all elite liberal-arts colleges. Yet legacy preferences have received relatively little public attention, especially when compared with race-based affirmative-action programs, which have given rise to hundreds of books and law-review articles, numerous court decisions, and several state initiatives to ban the practice.

Read the whole story: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Comments

[desidid]

09:51 AM on 11/03/2010

The reason for this isn't hard to understand white people tend to view their AA as an earned entitlement while they view other entitlements as giving someone something they haven't earned. And until we drive home this is AA for white people and ask why is this entitlement is not included with the other entitlements it will continue to be the lopsided way that whites enter college before better qualified candidates.

[fem56]

01:09 PM on 09/25/2010

Nothing is ever perfect when humans are involved but in reality univerisities have become far more diverse, ethnically, racially and economically. Thankfully the colleges have make tremendous effort to accommodate these students who often need a lot of extra help and support to succeed. Colleges are struggling to provide finacial aid to as many students as possible. Caltech is not a good example because they attract a lot of money because of the work they do and the professors they have. The same applies to MIT even though the author made a false assumption about MIT. Perhaps in a perfect world alumni would not be accepted at a greater rate but many schools are very dependent on them and they do provide a certain amount of school spirit. The most competitive universities seem to be making great efforts to reject all but the most qualified. My kids were not able to take advantage of legacy so I do understand the frustration.

[fem56]

08:48 PM on 09/23/2010

Legacy counts for nothing at MIT. I don't know where this guy gets his facts from. It makes me doubt the whole article. Legacy counts for a little bit at Stanford and Harvard but most legacy candidates are still turned away. I have no doubt that legacy helps significantly more at some other institutions. Athletics and "development"-donating a ton of money counts a lot more. Don't know where AA falls on the scale but it probably depends on the school.

[TheWorldBlowsUpTommorow]

04:49 AM on 09/24/2010

It's a significant portion of the student population at Stanford, Harvard and MIT. That's all that matters.

[fem56]

01:25 PM on 09/24/2010

The author claimed that legacy counted at MIT which it does not. MIT is more likely to appeal to the children of alumni than Caltech. Caltech is extemely specialized and for most students MIT is broader and more fun though certainly very challenging as well.

[Benedictus70]

05:16 PM on 09/23/2010

As a graduate of two universities which factor legacy status into admissions, I think the practice is a sham and should be abandoned. It's simply affirmative action for the dumb and rich.

[skullman]

09:33 AM on 09/23/2010

Affirmative action for the wealthy.

There is no better example than GW Bush.