<p>I met and listened to Marilee numerous times and I can assure you she never said that. She actually took pride in stating the exact opposite: MIT has no legacy preference. As Mollie said, the Dean of Admission personally reviews the file of each legacy applicant just to make sure it is the correct decision, but under Marilee's tenure no decision was actually reversed. This is because irate alumni parents would often call her when their child was rejected and she wanted to be able to offer an informed response. </p>
<p>EA at MIT offers no advantage whatsoever except that you are notified early if admitted. The admission rate is actually lower than RD because of a strict 30% cap on admission during EA.</p>
<p>On the second part of your question, it is common practice at many colleges that offer legacy advantage (as listed on their CDS) to ask that the legacies apply early decision. That is the quid pro quo. My nephew was a legacy at Brown and it was made clear to him and his parents that he should apply ED to get advantage of his status.</p>