<p>alexwoo: I think more and more that the competitive colleges and BS’s are really becoming “meritocracies”. I have seen too many legacy applicants turned down - I think legacy counts when “all other things are equal”. In the BS realm, I have seen AO’s “working” with the children of alums and big donors - if a “not quite qualified” applicant of one of the those groups applies for 9th grade, they will say “let’s see what he does in 9th grade at his current school and we’ll review his app again next Fall”. Whereas he is given a chance to prove himself, another unconnected applicant might just get declined. I think that whole concept of “absolute legacy acceptance” and buying your way into an institution of higher learning is on the wane.</p>