This editorial represents the opinion of 12 out of the 13 Aragon Outlook editors.
Controversy about college admissions has existed as long as the universities themselves. With the pressure and competition surrounding admissions at an all time high, the way that colleges sort through applicants has been subject to more scrutiny than ever.
While the current controversy surrounding college admissions usually pertains to the practice of affirmative action, the Outlook editors believe the idea of “legacy” admissions is an issue more deserving of attention.
Legacy students are prioritized in college admissions because their family members currently or have previously enrolled in the institution, or because they have a relative who is employed there. According to Richard D. Kahlenberg, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, nearly three-fourths of research universities and liberal arts colleges in the United States offer legacy admissions. This includes many prestigious private universities in America, the most prominent of them being Stanford and Ivy Leagues such as Harvard or Yale.
Colleges prioritize applicants whose families have had the opportunity to attend high level universities. As such these institutions inherently sort applicants by socioeconomic background and how long their relatives have been living in America. Doing this often leaves out students who are immigrants or first-time college attendees of college in their families.
“As of 2015, legacy students were five times more likely to be admitted to Harvard than their non-legacy counterparts”
The stereotypical family of only Harvard or Yale boys, distinguished by a long bloodline of doctors and lawyers stretching back generations, might seem to have diminished in modern day. Harvard’s legacy population, however, is actually increasing. The freshman class entering Harvard in 2018 was 29 percent legacy students, as reported by The Harvard Crimson, which jumped to 36 percent, or over a third of the student population in 2019. Also, as of 2015, legacy students were five times more likely to be admitted to Harvard than their non-legacy counterparts.
Despite university admissions being put under public scrutiny, legacy admissions have remained, for the most part, a “dirty secret” of top universities. As generations and generations of college attendees have passed through world-renowned universities, graduates have quietly funneled donations into new libraries, building restorations and renovations, or whatever else the university might see fit. In doing this, many graduates have secured a spot for their children and grandchildren, providing them with consequently giving them a boost of high-level academic connections, a prestigious degree and a pathway to a bright and successful future. High achieving students who don’t have a family name associated with these prestigious schools are then put at a significant disadvantage.
Legacy admissions are an outdated remnant of a system that prioritizes the wealthy, the “well-bred” and often white students over those who don’t have a bloodline at the university, no matter how many academic achievements they boast. Any prestigious university that practices legacy admissions inherently loses some of its prestige; it is impossible to be a fair and egalitarian institution while keeping alive this ancient tradition.
