<p>How much of an impact will legacy have? Does MIT take legacy as seriously as other elite colleges do?</p>
<p>No. They put very little weight on it.</p>
<p>
As it says in our application, "we are a meritocracy. We judge each other by our ideas, our creativity and our accomplishments, not by who our families are."</p>
<p>Marilee believes strongly in this statement (we all do). It is true that she personally reviews the applications of denied/waitlisted alumni kids, out of respect for the alums - but I've never seen her reverse a decision on these grounds.</p>
<p>This is also a good place for me to clarify that our definition of "meritocracy" is comprehensive. Certainly academic achievement is paramount, but there are many other ways to demonstrate merit - and we look at all of them when making a decision.</p>
<p>But merit (in whatever context) really has nothing to do with whether or not your parents went to MIT or taught here or donated a lot of money. Merit is all about you.
</p>
<p>(from this</a> thread)</p>