Although once deemed the pride of American universities, legacy admissions are an archaic system that is both shameful and an absurd excuse for corruption.
Legacy admissions provide a favorable advantage to applicants with a parent or relative who attended the university. This practice is prevalent among the eight Ivy League colleges and a select few prestigious universities worldwide, including Vanderbilt University and Emory University.
In anticipation of going into life beyond high school, many Woodbridge High students choose the college pathway. The truth of legacy admissions must be uncovered as it is a betrayal of supposed equity among applicants, resulting in a direct affect on our diverse student community. Senior and Chinese immigrant Crystal Sun, for example, was ineligible for legacy admission.
“My mom didn’t go to school in the United States so [legacy admissions didn’t] benefit me,” Sun said.
The United States is the only country in the world to use legacy admissions. According to National Geographic, the reason for its foundation in the early twentieth century was an attempt to exclude Jewish people and other minorities from attending these highly esteemed schools. Today, legacy admissions disproportionately favor white applicants, perpetuating inequality.
“If you come from a high-ranking background and have generations of your family [who went] to that specific school, that takes up a spot [from] someone else who could be more deserving that doesn’t have a legacy,” senior Pragya Sharma said.
According to the New York Times, children of alumni are nearly four times more likely to receive that college acceptance letter than students with similar test scores. Giving advantages to these alumni guarantees the cycle of preference will continue for future generations.
Supporters of legacy admissions often argue that alumni may cease donations to their alma mater if their child is not admitted. However, a study conducted by researchers Chad Coffman, Tara O’Neil and Brian Starr found no significant effect of legacy status on donation amounts. So if that’s not the reason, why do legacy admissions still exist? It is a tradition that is perceived as a way to honor alumni. However, this act of deception perpetuates the cycle of wealth to continue within the same families.
Harvard University researchers found from data over the last 16 years, Ivy League schools in addition to Stanford, Duke, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago, showed that one in six students came from the richest 1% of American families.
Not only that, but children from the top 1% of American wealthiest families were 34% more likely to be admitted than middle class students with the same SAT or American College Test (ACT) scores.
The Supreme Court recently ruled against affirmative action, a law intended to repair the results of past discrimination on minorities by making race a part of college applications. The recent ruling sparked debate on legacy admissions as well. In July of 2023, the United States Department of Education opened a federal civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s legacy admissions and found that 30% of Harvard’s class of 2023 were legacy admissions and of those, 70% were white. The case is still pending.
In light of the abolition of affirmative action, Wesleyan University has banned legacy admissions, setting a hopeful precedent for other institutions to follow. If college admissions genuinely prioritize academic qualifications regardless of race, they cannot claim to be race-blind while maintaining systems that primarily favor wealthy white students.
This does not mean that students are undeserving simply because they are children of alumni, but rather demonstrates the need for consistency in admissions policies if choosing students purely based on merit is truly the goal we are aiming for.
“Someone might say it’s unfair to give that advantage to people, especially if the previous generation and someone else’s family didn’t have the opportunity to go to the school,” junior Alexia Tatoulian said. “I could see that [but] I think that applies [to] a lot of things.”
Eliminating legacy admissions will not immediately halt the cycle of wealth or somehow lead to skyrocketing diversity in schools, but letting go of them is the first step in creating a more equitable education system. Tradition alone does not justify the necessity of legacy admissions.
