<p>I know a lot of so-called “no hope” legacies who applied to HYP seemingly just to throw a stone into the expanse. (Full disclosure: by the statistics-focused standards we often see on CC, I might be one of them.) That said, most of the legacies I know are relatively qualified. They are often privileged kids with accomplished parents who stress the importance of education and intellect, which in my opinion often helps motivate individuals or inculcate core educational values. </p>
<p>I also think that a lot of students only really come into their own in college. Chance threads on CC make it look like everyone is president of their student government, leader of Model UN and Math Olympiad, and a cancer researcher at age 18, but most people I know take until college to really unfurl. I would hazard that most people, with the greater experience and maturity displayed at age 20, would be much more attractive candidates two years after applying when compared to the 18 pool.</p>
<p>On another note, while we’re talking about “hooks” - I’m curious as to what the acceptance rate for faculty children is. From my very meager observations in my area (internationally known, rigorous high school), being legacy doesn’t help as much as being a well-qualified URM or athletic recruit does - I don’t remember the number of students who got into Yale this year, but I seem to recall that two-thirds were athletic recruits, one was a strong athlete though not a recruit, two were URM, one was an accomplished musician, and only two were “hookless” in that regard but were incredibly strong candidates; as far as I remember, none were legacy - but faculty children really do seem to get a boost. I know a couple faculty children who were accepted or wait-listed and very few who were rejected. Of course, my sample size is negligible and faculty children, again possibly due to privilege, often have very nice looking applications, but I think it’d be an interesting question.</p>