If legacy applicants as a group are as well credentialed or better credentialed (credentialed as defined by the university) then why do universities deploy a legacy preference (defined differently at different schools) at all?
@ljberkow I’ve relied on anecdotes because most universities don’t release detail statistics about their legacy preferences or even how those preferences are applied in real life. Are legacy applicants placed in their own bucket? Are legacy applicants whose parents donated a lot placed in a different bucket? Does legacy status only come up if an applicant is on the fence?
There have been a lot of studies done on Ivy League preferences - specifically those at Harvard. The Price of Admission is a book written about Ivy League legacy preferences, for example.
https://www.amazon.com/Price-Admission-Americas-Colleges-Outside/dp/1400097975/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520796842&sr=8-1&keywords=the+price+of+admission&dpID=516rpVeHiNL&preST=SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40&dpSrc=srch
There are other studies too. I’m not going to list them all here. You can google them.
I’ve taken care not to comment on Emory’s legacy preference because there’s not a lot of publicly available information about it. For example, what percentage of Emory’s entering class is legacy? I doubt it’s as high as 30% as has been reported to be the case at Harvard.
More anecdotes:
It’s well known in my city than Ivy League alums jockey to be appointed head of their local Ivy League alumni club or some other important position within - such as chair of the schools committee in charge of interviewing - right around the time their child is applying to college to boost the chances of admission. And it works. The child is invariably admitted. And then predictably, the parent resigns the post.
The former president of the local Harvard Club served for years until all 4 of her kids were admitted and then promptly retired. A former president of the local Princeton Club served until all 3 of his kids were admitted to Princeton, then promptly resigned. A wealthy surgeon got himself appointed to the local Princeton Club back in the day right before his son applied to Princeton from a prestigious local private school. His son was admitted. He resigned his post. A local Princeton alum got her high school aged daughter appointed as an officer to the local Princeton Club right before the daughter applied. The daughter was admitted.
These officers were elected in any way. They were not appointed through any process that most alumni were privy to.
Admission to elite schools should not be a process that can be manipulated by the already well-heeled and well-connected. It should be more like auditioning for a part in a play where ability and fit wins out. It should not be like joining a frat or a sorority where connections and secret criteria accessible to only a few win out.
A STEM professor who once taught at Harvard and served on its admissions committee has complained bitterly about how candidates that were clearly unqualified were being admitted because their parents had given a lot. When he pointed out their lack of qualifications, the response was “well, they have potential.” He’s also said that such admittees typically didn’t care about school and didn’t really try.