"Legacy" Question

mhc48 · 05-02-2008, 09:19 AM

If one is an alumni of a professional school at a university and contributes, does that have any legacy pull (assuming there is any at all at the school) for undergraduate admissions?

reasonabledad · 05-02-2008, 09:30 AM

I would guess that it is a very minor plus on the student's application.

CBBBlinker · 05-02-2008, 09:50 AM

Depends on how big the contribution is.

Hunt · 05-02-2008, 09:56 AM

Apparently this varies from school to school.

patient · 05-02-2008, 09:57 AM

It depends on the individual college. Stanford treats grad school alumni as legacy, but I believe that the Ivy Leagues limit that category to graduates of the undergraduate college. Legacy also carries different weight (and sometimes none at all) at different colleges.

JHS · 05-02-2008, 09:59 AM

It varies from college to college. If you read their materials carefully, they often address it.

By and large, from the colleges' perspective "legacy" preferences are a marketing tool, both to get students they want (often high-quality, full-paying students who are more likely to enroll than the average applicant), and to cement family loyalty for the purposes of mining contributions in the future. So there's no particular reason NOT to look at grad or professional school alumni as conferring a legacy. The more the merrier!

I am reasonably certain that Penn treats the children of professional-school graduates as legacies. (Those children of Wharton MBAs are ESPECIALLY likely not to consume too many of the university's financial aid resources.) I think Harvard limits it to parents and grandparents who were undergraduates there. I don't know about other Ivy League schools.

There's a lot of debate about this on CC. Personally, I believe that there is no real legacy advantage at the most selective colleges (and at some of them maybe there is a mild legacy disadvantage) unless one is talking about substantial (multiples of $1 million) historical contributions. Legacies clearly get admitted at a higher rate than the average, but there is reason to believe that as a group they are more qualified than average, too.

Hunt · 05-02-2008, 10:31 AM

"Legacies clearly get admitted at a higher rate than the average, but there is reason to believe that as a group they are more qualified than average, too."

Well, maybe. On the other hand, how many legacies from Harvard apply there anyway, even though their stats aren't that great? It's really hard to know how this works out.

broetchen · 05-03-2008, 04:10 AM

For some schools the advantage that legacy can bring is played out mainly in the Early Decision phase of the application. Penn comes to mind in that category.

patient · 05-03-2008, 08:58 AM

There is a difference but probably an overlap between a legacy candidate, which typically gives a relatively slight tip (regardless of level of contribution, I believe), and a development candidate, which is the usually the child ofmulti-million dollar contributors. A development candidate is far more than a tip.

In the case of a legacy candidate whose parents have given millions, it is the development aspect that carries the day rather than the slight tip because of the family connection to the school.

I also wonder whether there are "levels" of legacy. For example, do 3 generations (or more) at a school count more than 1? Do zip codes matter? Does history of donations matter? (I don't know, just asking) I'm guessing that different schools have different levels of scrutiny for these things, and also guessing that the policy toward legacies at individual colleges can change from time to time as school priorities (e.g., toward increasing diversity or ranking or contributions) change?

Triguena · 05-03-2008, 05:27 PM

Even among Legacies there is a pecking order. The child of an involved alum (whether through sustained giving or extensive volunteer work) will rise to the top because the family is a "known commodity".

Legacy status will not "cure" a inferior candidate. I find it funny when the parents of 16 year olds suddenly wake up to the X Univerisity Annual Fund. It's so transparent as to make it non-existant. Johnny's C in math will not be transformed by your $100 gift.

Hunt · 05-03-2008, 07:26 PM

Transformations are more likely to occur at a much higher level of giving.

Bay · 05-03-2008, 07:40 PM

Quote:

I find it funny when the parents of 16 year olds suddenly wake up to the X Univerisity Annual Fund. It's so transparent as to make it non-existant. Johnny's C in math will not be transformed by your $100 gift.

I have been told that a highly-ranked private u in our area notices a dip in alumni donations when it rejects legacies of said donors. Apparently, it works both ways.

danas · 05-03-2008, 09:46 PM

JHS, I enjoy your posts very much.
However, I have been following elite college results threads here as the parent of a recent applicant.
Reading the background of accepted posters, I repeatedly begin to wonder (part way through) how the heck this particular applicant was accepted. In about equal proportions the applicant turns out to be a URM, recruited athlete or legacy. Almost never fails. I will say the legacies seem to be a bit stronger on the academics than the athletes and the URMs. But the hurdle for a legacy is clearly much lower than for the unhooked, IMO.
But what about that legacy student in the top 5 of her stellar high school class? The reality is that about 1 in 6 Val applicants, from the numbers I've seen, are admitted to HYP. The bar is just that high.
The legacy acceptance numbers numbers at the elites, when they are reported, are what they are.
As an aside, I would say that the recruited athletes (of whom I am not a strong backer), are less likely to attribute their acceptances to "really great essays" and "terrific recommendations".

Lafalum84 · 05-03-2008, 10:30 PM

In my experience, legacy may tip the scale in your favor IF YOU ARE QUALIFIED ANYWAY. There are too many qualified candidates at most schools, so legacy will be one more factor that will be considered (along with athletic or other talents or interests that the school wants). If you're not qualified, legacy won't get you in.

I'm not sure how "professional school" legacies work, if they are the same as regular legacies or less important.

mini · 05-03-2008, 10:36 PM

At the "prestige" schools, legacy admissions have been de-emphasized precisely at the time that the first signficant group of racial minorities and women could make use of them.