<p>According to an information sheet that accompanied a letter from Dean Shaw to alumni parents of legacy candidates for the class of 2010, "No student is ever admitted simply because he/she is a legacy, but that connection may be considered a 'plus factor' over a similarly competitive non-legacy applicant." This suggests that the grades and scores would be comparable.</p>
<p>Your earlier point is well-taken, Byerly, and got me scratching my head. The same information sheet does indeed confirm that "legacy candidates have maintained an acceptance rate that is on average double the overall rate." It adds, "We expect this rate to be similar this year." This means that the acceeptance rate for class of2010 legacies was about 21.8%, necessitating that the acceptance rate for non-legacies was below the overall rate of 10.9%. How much below depends on the number of legacies who applied. For example, if 1000 legacies applied, then the admit rate for non-legacies would be about 8.4%, or 2.6 times less than the legacy rate.</p>