I think you may have misread the survey. 29% of *recruited athletes/i said their family incomes were above $250,000. No figures were given for the class as a whole. Interestingly, two-thirds of legacies (11% of the class) said their family incomes were over $250,000, while only 4.5% of first-generation college students (about 15% of the class) reported income that high. The discrepancy between the first-generation numbers and the recruited athlete numbers seem to indicate that there is very little overlap between recruited athletes and first-generation students. Which is a little surprising, but consistent with other things I have read recently about demographic changes in college athletics generally.
The family incomes of recruited athletes are listed under Demographics -> Athletes’ Family Incomes. I quoted data from College Costs -> Family Income, which covers the class as a whole.
ClarinetDad - sorry, you fail statistics. Though your analysis was interesting.
@tomtul2 Just out of curiosity, are you defining legacy as Harvard undergrad? I know that typically, that is what is implied just because for admissions purposes, that is the only type of legacy that could truly make an impact. I am wondering if legacies of grad schools (HBS, HLS, the K school, etc) are counted as Harvard “legacies” in your mind, as my mother attended HBS, but I am not classified as a legacy in the applicant pool to Harvard College.
It will not go unnoticed that your mother attended HBS but it won’t be much, if anything at all, of a boost.
@vibrantviolet and @tomtul2: I searched for a more recent article with a direct quote, but couldn’t find one. So, you’ll just have to assume Harvard’s definition of legacy hasn’t changed in the past 12 years: http://thedartmouth.com/2003/05/15/legacy-policies-vary-across-nation/
@vibrantviolet, unfortunately (and surprisingly), having a mother attend HBS will not help admission for Harvard College. Gibby is right.
One of the reasons that legacies get into any school is because their parents knew how to play the game. Good resume building, good test prep, etc. And for a school like Harvard, a robust intellectual environment is probably more likely to be reinforced at home.
When it comes to two equal candidates, the legacy may be a tip but it helps if the parents were big donors. At which point, we’re not talking about middle class (unless the family achieved that status by giving away all its wealth to Harvard!)
“unfortunately (and surprisingly), having a mother attend HBS will not help admission for Harvard College. Gibby is right.”
Correct for Harvard but interestingly not so for Stanford. Stanford grants legacy status to the offspring of the alums of grad/professional school as well as of the college.
As for the OP’s original question, my daughter’s blocking group at Harvard, a completely unscientific sample, was composed of 2 Asians, 1 African American, 1 upper-middle class white legacy, and 4 white middle class kids with no hooks. All 8 were very smart high-achievers in HS. All were personable, witty, and interesting to talk to. And all 8 have gone on to successful post-grad education and careers.
@excanuck99 - what’s the correct number?
Interesting statistic is the number of Pell Grant recipients. Despite its generous financial aid program, Harvard lags many first tier universities by a considerable margin. This has actually triggers a major debate among Harvard’s faculty, many of whom feel the FA it is awarding to relatively wealthy students (those making between $80 and 140K) is coming at the cost of low income students.They want aid for low income students augmented since the official budget–upon which FA is based–is known to be very tight.
Scipio, though you’re right that Stanford has a broader definition of legacy than Harvard, from what I’ve observed over the years anyway being an undergrad Stanford alum seems to provide a noticeably stronger boost for one’s kids than being a grad alum.
I’m not sure to what extent that’s because undergrad alums tend to have a stronger sense of affiliation and thus a higher level of involvement with the school, versus all else equal primary legacy is just > secondary legacy.
It makes sense to me that Harvard would just consider legacy to be Harvard College alumni children given the large proportion of graduate students (IIRC about 2/3 of Harvard students are in graduate programs).
Shouldn’t Harvard be a blend of all economic classes?
Sure, why not? And shouldn’t it be a blend of all ethnicities? And shouldn’t it just be for the highest academic achievers?
It seems everyone has an opinion about whom Harvard should and should not accept.
Harvard is a blend of all economic classes. Everyone has an opinion as to whether the blend is the right blend from their own particular perspective. With nearly 40,000 applicants and about 2100 spots to offer I think they do a pretty admirable job.
As to the original poster’s original question, my kids fit the described demographic. Two white males, middling income, no hooks, not legacies. The older one is a senior Classics concentrator, the younger is a sophomore math concentrator. A substantial numb e r of their friends at Harvard are also white kids, non-legacies, non-rich, no hooks. And a substantial number of their friends fall into other demographic categories.
What is important is that you stand out in some way. High SATs and GPAs won’t distinguish you. What you need is for the admissions committee to feel that you would make a contribution. Find something that jumps out at them.
@bluewater2015 - if Stanford grants a “secondary” sort of legacy status to children of grad/prof school alums, they do so in a secret or coded way. When Stanford grants legacy status they send a letter to the applicant formally granting or approving their claim of legacy. And the wording of the legacy letters is the same for undergrad legatees as it is for those of the grad schools.
So if they are making a distinction it must be in secret on the files back at the admissions office and is not indicated on what is communicated to the students.
@Scipio Yes I understand that grad school legacy and undergrad legacy are both legacies at Stanford in terms of official process - just saying that from people I happen to know anyway, students with undergrad alum parents seem to have more success getting in. FWIW.