<p>Check out this article in Chronicle of Higher Learning citing research from Harvard concerning the advantages of legacy candidates.</p>
<p>"A researcher at Harvard University recently examined the impact of legacy status at 30 highly selective colleges and concluded that, all other things being equal, legacy applicants got a 23.3-percentage-point increase in their probability of admission. If the applicants' connection was a parent who attended the college as an undergraduate, a "primary legacy," the increase was 45.1-percentage points."</p>
<p>The admissions officers get prickly about this and counter that legacy candidates have higher-than-average scores and grades anyway.</p>