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Legacy preferences

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Legacy preferences or legacy admission is a type of preference given by educational institutions to certain applicants on the basis of their familial relationship to alumni of that institution. (Students so admitted are referred to as legacies or legacy students.) This preference is most common in American universities and colleges[1] and emerged after World War I, primarily in response to the resulting immigrant influx[2]. The Ivy League institutions are estimated to admit 10% to 30% of each entering class based upon this factor.[3][4]

Former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers has stated, "Legacy admissions are integral to the kind of community that any private educational institution is." In the 1998 book The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions, authors William G. Bowen, former Princeton University president, and Derek Bok, former Harvard University president, found "the overall admission rate for legacies was almost twice that for all other candidates." While the preference is quite common in elite universities and liberal arts colleges, it is quite controversial, with 75% of Americans opposing the preference[5]

Legacy preferences in comparison to other programmes

At some schools, legacy preferences have an effect on admissions comparable to other factors such as being a recruited athlete or affirmative action. One study of three selective private research universities in the United States showed the following effects (admissions disadvantage and advantage in terms of SAT points on the old 1600-point scale):

  • Blacks: +230
  • Hispanics: +185
  • Asians: –50
  • Recruited athletes: +200
  • Legacies (children of alumni): +160

[6]

Criticism

Because private universities in U.S. rely heavily on the donation from alumni, critics argue that legacy preferences are a way to indirectly sell university placement. Opponents accuse these programs of perpetuating an oligarchy and plutocracy as they lower the weight of academic merit in admissions process in exchange of financial one. Another criticism is that the wealthy are given an insurmountable advantage which hinders economic mobility within the society.

Economically, while many schools say that a main reason for legacy preference is to increase donations[7], at an aggregate (school-wide) level the decision to prefer legacies has not been shown to increase donations[8]. While alumni donations may go up if a child is intending on applying, donations fall if that child is rejected[9].

However, some couple their stance on the two policies, either supporting or opposing both affirmative action and legacy preferences simultaneously. For example, the conservative former Regent of the University of California, Ward Connerly, opposes both affirmative action and legacy admissions. Some supporters of the elimination of all non-academic preferences also point out that many European universities, including highly selective institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge, do not use any racial, legacy, or athletic preferences in admissions decisions.

There is also a legal argument against legacy preferences in government schools, which argues that they violate the Nobility Clause of the constitution, by creating a hereditary privilege.[10]

See also

Outside resources

References

  1. ^ Daniel Golden (2010), "Chapter 4: An Analytic Survey of Legacy Preference", Affirmative Action for the Rich, ISBN 978-0870785184 {{citation}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Peter G. Schmidt (2007). Color and Money: How Rich White Kids Are Winning the War over College Affirmative Action. ISBN 978-1403976017.
  3. ^ "The curse of nepotism". The Economist. January 8, 2004.
  4. ^ "Legacy Admit Rate at 30 Percent", The Harvard Crimson. May 11, 2011.
  5. ^ RICHARD D. KAHLENBERG (2010-09-29), "Elite Colleges, or Colleges for the Elite?", New York Time{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  6. ^ Thomas J. Espenshade and Chang Y. Chung (June 2005), Study "The Opportunity Cost of Admission Preferences at Elite Universities", SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY, 86 (2) {{citation}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ Kathrin Lassila (2004), "Why Yale Favors Its Own", Yale Alumni magazine {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "Chapter 5: An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Legacy Preferences on Alumni Giving at Top Universities", Affirmative Action for the Rich, 2010, ISBN 978-0870785184 {{citation}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Jonathan Meer and Harvey S. Rosen (2007), ""Altruism and the Child-Cycle of Alumni Giving"", National Bureau of Economic Research
  10. ^ Larson, Carlton. “Titles of Nobility, Hereditary Privilege, and the Unconstitutionality of Legacy Preferences in Public School Admissions”, Washington University Law Review, Volume 84, page 1375 (2006).

"Study: Ending affirmative action would devastate most minority college enrollment"

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