Legacy rant

<p>Yes, legacies get some points in the admissions process. Legacies that donate a significant amount of time and money get lots of points in the process. Anyone that donates a lot of time and money to a school or cause, enough that they are a line item at the Development Office will get extra consideration. So what? </p>

<p>I think having legacies adds to the richness of the campus bringing out the historical links and family loyalty. Brings more donations too. You think most alums whose kid gets rejected is going to be as generous? </p>

<p>I don’t see why there is the rant. There are many categories of kids whose SATs and GPAs are lower than yours that were accepted because they were flagged candidates. Legacies are just one category. The athletes, the musicians, the celebrities, the development admits, the relationship to the admissions director, the employees of the university, geographical considerations, sex (yes, males are more likely to get into most Catholic schools because there are few of them who apply, and BC is in that category), URM status, hardship, ECs that the school wants. I’ve seen all of these categories get preference, some of them a lot of preference. I personally know of two lunkhead athletes that were accepted, one so below par they could not even get him in despite athletic prowess until he did a year at another college and got passing grades. Happens all of the time. </p>

<p>If it makes you feel any better, my friend who is a BC alum, whose father donated decently to BC, who personally knows the alumni development contact, did not get either of her kids into BC despite the fact that they were well in that 50% middle category of students accepted. Too many Catholic school kids from NY apply there, and they were not in the middle of that category.</p>

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<p>You don’t know that this student is less qualified. You may know that he has a lower GPA and lower test scores. That doesn’t make him less qualified. I can point to any number of threads where 4.0 / 2400 scoring students are denied and students with lower scores / GPA’s get into given schools. Qualified is read in the context of the total picture.</p>

<p>A 3.3 student with lower scores was admitted off the WL. He is a legacy.</p>

<p>a) it is because he was a legacy, plain and simple</p>

<p>b) he wrote stunning essays.</p>

<p>I’m going for (a)</p>

<p>Another take on the legacy that hasn’t been mentioned is they are more likely to feel pressure (for lack of a better word) to succeed as to not break the ‘family tradition’, and they are less likely to transfer. Admissions is an expensive and labor intensive process. Retention of students is one way to reduce that load. This does NOT mean that a non legacy student will do poorly, or transfer, however a legacy may statistically be more likely to stay and graduate.
My boys will not be applying to a school where they are a legacy, so this is certainly not a defense of their right for preferential treatment, no matter how slight. It is simply an observation that a school may feel legacy is a legitimate predictor, however small, of a students future at their school.</p>

<p>Kona - Rant away. Unfortunately that doesn’t change the fact that Admissions is a subjective process with objective trappings … just like life.</p>

<p>“You’re doing a heckuva job Brownie.”</p>

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<p>Kid is a legacy, who has a sister (and possibly a brother) currently in attendance. Of course he will get a tip in the waitlist process over an “unconnected” student because the admissions staff knows that if admitted, the student will most likely attend due to the family connections.</p>

<p>When colleges go to the waitlist, they want students who want them. They do not want to spend a lot of time going back and forth wondering if someone is called from the waitlist if they will actually attend. If you pull someone of the waitlist who has decided they are no longer interested, then you have to go back, again to get another student.</p>

<p>Perhaps the moment he got waitlisted he went into action. Instead of simply replying to the card/e-mail saying that he wants to remain on the waitlist, perhaps he or the counselor sent in a letter of continued interest stating that BC is his first choice and if given a spot of the waitlist, he would definitely attend.</p>

<p>Using Sorghum’s distillation of the issue…</p>

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How many other words/terms can be used to fill in the blank other than legacy? A legacy is only one of many preferred groups of applicants. I see this thread as less of a rant against legacies as preferred groups of applicants in general.</p>

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<p>Good for him. I see nothing wrong with using any hooks that one has, such as legacy. I’d use those hooks too if I had them.</p>

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<p>No reason to refrain. However, as you posted your rant on a discussion board, you must be prepared to get input, not all of it validating your sentiments.</p>

<p>As to fairness of college admissions, your son may well be more “qualified.” I’m also confident that your son got a spot at his university ahead of someone else who, on paper, may have been more “qualified” than he is. But the admissions department saw something in your son which gave him an edge. It’s not all black and white.</p>

<p>A few years ago, 6 students were accepted to Stanford at my child’s school. All 6 were legacies. I believe all are qualified students, but I’m sure a few kids with higher stats were rejected. It’s the way things go…</p>

<p>konabean: You can rant, and then people respond. That’s how CC works.</p>

<p>I understand your frustration, but as others have stated, this is part of how colleges survive.</p>

<p>So much about the college process defies rational understanding and seems “unfair.”</p>

<p>It’s probably also unfair that my S got into a very reachy school because he’s a violinist and they needed one for their orchestra.</p>

<p>I think people just don’t want you to have to feel bitter.</p>

<p>Hope your S thrives at the school where he’s off the wait list. My coping mechanism would say that he’ll be happier there and someone is watching out for him. Irrational? You bet. Helps me get through the days.</p>

<p>Legacy, URM, athlete–all have an advantage at many schools. That’s the way it is, like it or not, wrong or right. </p>

<p>How do you get around it? Be very wealthy and donate lots of money OR be very qualified so that they accept you.</p>

<p>I’m not sure why so many think legacy is not a major hook. It is. At every ivy legacies are taken at twice the rate or more (4 times the rate of other applicants at Princeton). At a school like BC of course it matters a lot, especially in this economy.</p>

<p>Admissions has many factors besides GPA and test scores. That said, I am sympathetic. As a parent it’s very difficult knowing that your child has been told that he/she needs to work hard on grades so he/she has a better chance to get into the college of choice and then see that it doesn’t quite work out that way.</p>

<p>Rant away, but do it here and not where your son can hear you. Things will work out and he will do fine.</p>

<p>Colleges accept the students they want.</p>

<p>If some college announced a set of objective criteria and promised to follow that objective criteria in its admissions decisions – for example, announcing that it would accept the applicants with the highest SAT scores, or calculate and academic index by multiplying the SAT score by the GPA, and accept only the students with the highest numbers — then it certainly would be unfair if the college failed to follow that policy because of some sort of special consideration.</p>

<p>But colleges don’t make any such claim. GPA’s and test scores are only two of many factors they consider. Legacy is another factor. So is geographic diversity. </p>

<p>The waitlist presents an opportunity for the college to cherry-pick students who fill some sort of institutional priority or need – including the need to maintain good relations with potential alumni donors. </p>

<p>I understand the frustration of seeing a prize of any sort go to someone else… but I don’t quite get the notion of “less qualified” given the subjective criteria for selection. “Qualified” is in the mind of the beholder – and there may be many reasons why a given college may prefer one applicant over another.</p>

<p>konabean, I’m fine with your rant. </p>

<p>FYI my D got into one school where I went and was rejected by another. So who knows about the legacy factor in her case? </p>

<p>Now, I get to immediately throw out anything I receive from the rejecting school. Especially pleas for money. That’s my rant!</p>

<p>^ And that is, of course, why legacies get their advantage!</p>

<p>Greenwitch, we have the same rant as you. </p>

<p>Also, BC loves athletes. An athlete with good but less impressive grades and legacy status (including relatives currently attending) could easily get the acceptance over someone with more impressive grades/scores but no athletic or less needed athletic stat’s. Which kid is more likely to attend from the POV of the admissions committee?</p>

<p>greenwitch:
That’s not a rant…that’s a celebration! I too now will get to toss all solicitations from my college. S2 wasn’t even waitlisted, with stats well into the 50% grouping, and as a double legacy at a school that professes to value legacy status.</p>

<p>If you think that getting beaten out by a legacy is irritating, try getting crowded out from top colleges by AA. Ridiculous. :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>Not always. IMO at some schools that offer legacy status it’s either a minor hook or a hook that gets applied very unevenly. </p>

<p>Our two daughters have legacy status at Stanford. Both had great stats. D1 graduated #2 in her class. D2 graduated #1. D1 had slightly higher SATs but both were excellent and well within Stanford’s range. Both had lots of musical ECs and awards. D2’s EC achievements, leadership, and talent were a little better. D1 had a little more community service. Both girls were overall strong applicants, and either girl was indistignuishable on paper from those who get accepted into the school.</p>

<p>Admissions Results: D1 - accepted in RD (didn’t apply SCEA). D2 - deferred in SCEA and rejected in RD.</p>

<p>So where is the big legacy boost for D2? If it were all that compelling of a hook D2 should have sailed right in to Stanford. But she’s not crying about it. She went to an Ivy League school instead - where she had no legacy status. </p>

<p>Calmom has it right: “Colleges accept the students they want.”</p>