Why do colleges prefer legacy students?

The “logic” is that legacy students are most likely to matriculate, most likely to graduate, most likely to be happy with the school, and most likely to donate. They continually support the school. Students are familiar with what their parents do and did, and where they went to school.

Does being a legacy help college admissions?

A recent study by Harvard economists, using data from several élite colleges, found that legacies were nearly four times more likely to be admitted than other applicants with the same test scores.

Why do legacy students have an advantage?

A legacy admission is both more likely to enroll and to be retained. The applicant knows what they are getting into and what the campus life is like. They also have someone who can provide advice. The applicant also has an existing if indirect relationship with the university.

Why does Harvard like legacy students?

Given how Harvard and other high-status schools have valued legacy students, it's unlikely they will give up the practice easily, even with the Department of Education investigating the practice. These institutions say legacy admissions help foster relationships with alumni and promote an intergenerational community.

Do legacy students have a higher chance of getting in?

A research group at Harvard conducted an analysis of a dozen elite schools — including the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, and the University of Chicago — and determined that, among applicants with similar test scores, legacy applicants were far more likely to be accepted into the school their parents attended than those whose ...

U.S. colleges divided over whether to end legacy admissions

Why do schools care about legacy?

Legacy admissions — the practice of preferentially admitting the children of alumni — is one of the powerful, tangible characteristics that helps foster that sense of community. By going to these schools, you open up opportunities for yourself, but also your family and children.

How do colleges know if you're a legacy?

Colleges can include questions about legacy status in their supplements on the Common Application, and it's often just two or three questions. Are you related to an alumnus?

What university has the most legacy admissions?

In short, Ivy League and other top schools typically admit legacies at two to five times their overall admission rates. Among top universities, the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University are known to weigh legacy status heavily in their application processes.

Why do Ivy Leagues care about legacy?

In fact, legacy admission isn't just a non-merit-based advantage — it is the mechanism by which elite schools shield themselves from having to demonstrate their own merit. The first time I applied to Harvard Law School, I was waitlisted, then rejected. My mother had attended the law school three decades earlier.

What colleges are getting rid of legacy?

Some schools, though, are publicly rejecting the practice. New York University, Michigan State University and Bryn Mawr College all told The Washington Post they do not use legacy preferences and will make that clear on a survey, known as the Common Data Set, that had previously shown otherwise.

How much does legacy help for colleges?

Even if their legacy status weren't considered, they would still be about 33 percent more likely to be admitted than applicants with the same test scores, based on all their other qualifications, demographic characteristics and parents' income and education, according to an analysis conducted by Opportunity Insights, a ...

Do siblings count as legacy?

Yes, having a sibling who attended or is attending an institution can improve an applicant's chances of being accepted. This is known as legacy admissions.

How common are legacy admissions?

How many students are admitted as part of legacy admissions? The AP has reported that based on reports by the University of Southern California, 14% of 2022's admitted USC students had family ties to alumni or donors. Stanford reported a similar rate.

Is it easier to get into college as a legacy?

The short answer is that being a legacy is very likely to increase your chances of being admitted to an individual college or university, particularly a very elite one. As of last year, the estimated admission rate for Harvard legacies was more than four times that of non-legacies!

Are you more likely to get into Harvard if your parents went?

Are my chances of admission enhanced if a relative has attended Harvard? The application process is the same for all candidates. Among a group of similarly distinguished applicants, the children of Harvard College alumni/ae may receive an additional look.

Does Yale consider legacy?

Eleven percent of the Yale College class of 2027 are legacies, according to the admissions office's First-Year Class Profile. This number marks a slight decrease in legacy population from the class of 2026, which has 12 percent legacy students, and the class of 2025, which has 14 percent legacy students.

What is the easiest Ivy League to get into?

Cornell is considered the "easiest" Ivy League to get into because it has the highest Ivy League acceptance rate. While it's easier, statistically speaking, to get into Cornell, it's still challenging. It's also important to remember that students apply directly to one of Cornell's eight undergraduate colleges.

Why does Harvard have a low acceptance rate?

One major reason the Harvard University acceptance rate has fallen to a record low is the overwhelming number of students who apply to Harvard. More students submitted a Harvard application than ever before after the school waived its test requirements for the immediate future.

How does Harvard know if you are legacy?

A Harvard legacy student is someone with a family tie to Harvard University, often being the child or grandchild of a Harvard alumnus. Legacy status can influence college admissions to varying degrees across different schools, including Harvard, but it's just one aspect considered in the application process.

What is the rarest university to get into?

Based in San Francisco, Minerva is the most difficult school to get into, with a 0.99% admission rate for the class of 2026. The college is far more difficult to enter than the Ivy League colleges on this list. Of 20,816 first-year applicants for the class of 2026, Minerva admitted just 208 students.

Do aunts count as legacy?

In general, know that the vast majority of schools will not consider applicants to be legacies if their connections are through extended family members (aunts and uncles, cousins, so forth). Most schools do not even extend legacy preference for siblings!

Does Colgate consider legacy?

Legacy students have a significantly higher chance of getting accepted than those who demonstrate financial need in the admissions process.

Do legacy students pay less?

Legacy status may also work as a proxy for financial need.

In other words, these students are more likely to be able to pay full tuition without help from the university. “It's a way to circumvent need-blind policies,” said Richard D. Kahlenberg, an education expert and a nonresident scholar at Georgetown University.

Why is legacy so important?

A legacy gives you an opportunity to live for a purpose that's bigger than yourself. It allows you to change your family tree, not just for your children, but for generations to come! You can decide to use everything you have—wealth, resources, talent and relationships—to bless those around you.

What are the cons of legacy admissions?

In the case of legacy admissions, elite universities are effectively discriminating against less privileged students for the benefit of the wealthy — and some donors are enabling them. Fortunately, some universities have already taken legacy preferences off the table. MIT and Wesleyan, for example.