<p>For the Class of 2011, only 59 members were children of alumni. In previous years, the number has hovered around the one hundred mark. Has the number of legacy applications gone down as qualified legacies choose HYP over Columbia? Also, if an applicant has decent stats, 1400/1600 SAT, high GPA, excellent ec’s, and fantastic rec’s, will they be admitted over a student with slightly higher stats?
Most articles out there focus on legacy admissions for HYP, but they often don’t focus on Columbia. I know Columbia wants to boost alumni giving, as that is a factor in the USNWR rankings, so does that mean that all marginally qualified legacies are admitted? I am beginning to think that is the case, as I had an overnight visit at Columbia last month. I met three legacies, and all of them had <1450(1600 scale) on their SAT’s with very generic ec’s. </p>
<p>ALL qualified legacy applicants? Surely you recognize that that’s a ludicrous question.</p>
<p>As for your anecdotal evidence, here’s some of my own: I knew very few legacies during my time at columbia. If the general admit rate is around 10%, and you assume that children of legacies are more likely to have a background that properly prepares them to be competitive in admissions at columbia, then you’d expect legacies to be admitted at maybe 15-20%. And I’d expect that’s about what they are - in fact, I’d be surprised if I learned differently.</p>
<p>I don’t think alumni giving is that big a factor here. The kind of alumni giving that makes a difference are the very big development cases, and those kids, who are few and far between, are already given preferential treatment in admissions.</p>
<p>One boy at my school was admitted even though his rank was ~35/300 and his SAT score was around 1400. He was a double legacy. However, I think it was right that he got in; he was president of his class for multiple years, and he was an awesome public speaker/organizer/leader. I don’t think he’d have gotten in without the legacy, but I DO think he deserved to get in.</p>
<p>I take exception to “hovered around 100”, unless you’re counting both CC and SEAS (which based on the number you cited for 2011, you’re not). Here are the numbers I gleaned from past CCT issues of sons and daughters of alumni enrolled:</p>
<p>Nemesis, thanks for the data, it really helps! I got the previous number from <a href="http://www..com%5B/url%5D">www..com</a>, but someone must have been making up numbers…</p>
<p>Based on the numbers you presented, do you think they limit the number of legacies or are they admitting most of the qualified ones that apply?</p>
<p>Edit: Why is AuT0adm1t.com being starred out? Eliminating competition? (Sorry for the caps and numbers but that is to keep it from bleeping it out)</p>
<p>When I was in admissions, it was kind of common knowledge, almost a rule of thumb, I guess, that at any given institution, legacy admits were generally just about twice the rate of other admits. So if Columbia admits 9% of applicants, then legacy kids would be admitted at around 18%. There are a lot of factors that surround legacy admissions, and, surprisingly–except in the case of very generous donors–money isn’t usually one of them.</p>