<p>It is what it is. In finance you want hungry people, not those that have had everything handed to you. And academics have little to do with success in finance - its all about creativity and drive and teamwork. Same with the Ivies - if you are not a legacy and come from a privileged background, that is a strike against you and you need to be especially great to overcome it. Same with getting jobs at the top of finance. Such is life as they say. </p>
<p>The idea finance is a pure field full of “hungry people” where legacies don’t have a leg up is pretty goofy, and would certainly be a surprise to generations of Rockefellers and others. As for legacies at Harvard, it is worth remembering that the huge majority of legacy applicants do not get admitted. All admitted students at Harvard – legacy or not – are pretty darn remarkable, as are many, many students who are not admitted. But any businessperson like Bobby16’s father, who hires people because of where they got into college (or why he thinks they got into college), ignoring what they made of their higher education, isn’t going to be successful in business for long.</p>
<p>@Bobby96. I’m afraid you have a lot to learn. I’ve spent my whole career in finance at the HYP of firms and trust me when I say you don’t know what you’re talking about.</p>
<p>I also agree with @2014ProfDad btw.</p>
<p>Maybe Bobby’s dad should read this article about athletes:
<a href=“CareerBuilder's Employer Resource Center”>CareerBuilder's Employer Resource Center;
<p>I agree with @Falcon1. Bobby’s dad is doing his firm a disservice if he thinks weeding out legacies is a good thing. Legacies who are getting into top colleges may have coasted in the past but today’s environment is very different. Are there legacies who are entitled and may not turn out to be as “hungry” as others? Sure. But there are people who fit this from many backgrounds. But his ham-fisted bias against all things legacy is stupid, IMHO.</p>
<p>Listen - I am a legacy and got in but do not feel great about it. I had the scores etc to get in but as a legacy my chance was nearly 100% but would have been 10% if not. I find it humorous at times t even discuss this and Dems makes me laugh the most. Lets take the estate tax as an example. It was enacted in this country to prevent family wealth from accumulating and creating powerful family dynasties like in Europe. I think it is a fantastic law. Dems love it to for the same reason. But Dems that went to Harvard love the legacy policy. They will throw every qualified minority down the hole to preserve their spot at H for their son or daughter. That drives me crazy. It is essentially the same thing. If these good colleges had morals they would not reserve spots for kids like me. It promotes the same thing as if the estate tax was repealed.</p>