<p>One good thing about seeing parents’ education level and income bracket is that it is one way to calculate a student’s genetic potential as well as the opportunities available to them. </p>
<p>So, in a case where both parents earned doctorates and are in a high income bracket, one would suppose that the child would be smart as well. Taken along with a standardized test, this is one way to asses academic potential. One could also suppose that the child had many opportunities available to him, and it would look poorly if all this applicant did was play videogames all day, whereas a student living in the ghetto might have a better excuse for doing that. </p>
<p>So having smart parents is beneficial in that you probably have a lot of raw academic potential, yet it is also a burden in that more is expected from you. Colleges will vary on how to treat this past/future performance debate, and some colleges will take risks on a poor performing kid if they think he has the potential to succeed. Some won’t.</p>