Legacy

[molliegym]

<p>Does Harvard care if you're a legacy? Or does it not effect admissions at all?</p>

[mathmom]

<p>Harvard cares. They are cagey about how much they care. It’s hard to tell to what extent the legacies are slightly better candidates, but they get accepted at higher rates. Back in 2004 this is what they had to say on the subject:

The average boost in the odds of admission is about 30 percentage points for a recruited athlete, 28 points for a member of an underrepresented minority group, and 20 points for a legacy. For example, an applicant with an admissions probability of 40 percent based on SAT scores and other variables would have an admissions probability of 70 percent if he or she were a recruited athlete, 68 percent if an underrepresented minority, and 60 percent if a legacy.

from [A</a> Thumb on the Scale  (May-June 2005)](<a href=“http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html]A”>http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html)</p>

[molliegym]

<p>mathmom- Thank you for your reply. It was very helpful :)</p>