<p>I always wonder how the admission stats at top schools are affected by the number of people who apply who really and truly have no hope of admissions, but do so anyway out of a vain hope, or just for the heck of it. I also wonder whether being a legacy might make such a no-hope candidate MORE likely to apply to the particular school. So, I think, while those legacies who are accepted may be about as qualified as the accepted kids in the non-legacy pool, those that are rejected may be, as a group, less qualified than the regular pool.</p>