Leaving Legacies Behind

Hardly a day passes without breaking news about the college admissions process. This week, prosecutors revealed new charges against Lori Loughlin and other parents involved in the college admissions scandal. Two weeks ago, we learned that Harvard prevailed in the lawsuit that accused it of discriminating against Asian-Americans in its admissions process. Affirmative action receives immense amounts of coverage — both critical and laudatory — in the media. Another topic, however, receives comparatively little scrutiny: legacy admissions. The preference given to children of alumni can have much larger implications than those of affirmative action; as Stuyvesant students, it is critical that we consider and remember the effect of legacy admissions on college admissions.

Though legacy admissions are hard to justify from a meritocratic perspective, many universities have at least semi-valid reasons for employing them. Maintaining relationships with alumni is critical to generating donations and universities believe, not unreasonably, that giving preference to children of alumni will make alumni feel more connected to their alma mater. Legacy preferences may also foster school spirit and encourage children of alumni to apply.

While these may be weighty factors for smaller and less prominent universities, top-ranked universities with large endowments could easily do without legacy preferences. Indeed, MIT abolished them several years ago. Moreover, at top-ranked universities, legacy preferences have the pernicious effect of creating a hereditary social elite — at Stuyvesant, in contrast, students are admitted on a purely meritocratic basis, creating an elite based on academic factors. The results of legacy admissions are reflected in the differences between the student demographics of Stuyvesant and top-ranked universities. Nearly 40 percent of Stuyvesant students qualify for free or reduced lunch, meaning their family income is under $27,000 a year. In contrast, the student body at Ivy League schools comes from wealthier backgrounds; a study found that the median family income for a Harvard student is triple the national average.

In addition to the boost given by their legacy status, children of alumni often are also advantaged in other ways: well-educated parents, knowledge of the college admissions process, and often wealth. While it may be fair to give students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds some boost in the college admission process, there is no need to provide legacy students with additional advantages. If it is indeed true that legacy students are uniquely suited for the schools with which they are affiliated, that will make itself clear in other parts of their application. In this respect, legacy admissions are more problematic than affirmative action, athletic scholarships, or admissions based on an individual’s unique societal contribution, such as Harvard student David Hogg's exceptional activist efforts. Though none of these admissions are based on academic skills, athletes and well-known students do not, as a group, come from backgrounds as privileged as those of legacy students.

Colleges that emphasize legacy as a significant aspect of their admissions process have a specific ideal of elite education — one that is not meritocratic. As November 1 and other college decision deadlines approach for Stuyvesant seniors, we urge applicants to consider if the values of the colleges to which they are applying, especially colleges with legacy, line up with their own. Furthermore, when decisions are released early next year, we hope that students take any rejection they recieve in stride; they should know that “their” spot likely did not go to someone exploiting affirmative action. Instead, it might have gone to a “hooked” student or one who had legacy. They should help dispel the vitriol surrounding affirmative action and direct their efforts toward reforming a system that perpetuates elitism and excludes the meritorious from our nation’s leading institutions. It is time to have an honest discussion about legacy admissions.