Wow, @Golfgr8 we haven’t ever seen that Fac kids or legacies are given preference ( beyond acceptance where it’s obvious). That would definitely not fly.
Have noticed that both (fac and leg) are much lower (on average)academically than the other kids. We have also noticed that many ( though by no means all) athletes are also lower academically. We’ve also seen that in sports where the school has won the league championship or is well known the students tend to be more closely aligned with the norm. Perhaps they have a bigger and better group of kids to pick from.
I was surprised at this during my oldests Freshman year but then realized that they pick a well rounded class of kids who are academic, into sports, into music etc. Many kids fill multiple buckets but some are firmly planted in one. So if you/your kid is really strong in one area don’t be surprised if the entire school has pockets of other strengths and abilities. All good. I just was expecting every kid to be a stellar student.