What are legacy admissions?
What are legacy admissions?
Introduction
Legacy admission or legacy preferences are a kind of preference offered to specific applicants by organizations or institutions depending upon the familial relationship of them with an alumnus of that educational body. Therefore, students who get admission to any institution through legacy admission then they are referred to as legacy students or legacies. Though, this may happen in admission to all types of educational institutions it is most common for admission in colleges as well as universities. This system of admission is most common for admissions in American colleges and universities. Its emergence can be traced back to the post First World War period. Due to the high immigrant influx this system was adopted. It is estimated that almost 10 to 30 percent of the total strength of the classes in Ivy League institutions are legacies. Legacy admission is not mandatorily restricted to admissions in college but it can also be found during admission to collegiate sororities and fraternities and also in fraternal organizations like Freemasonry.
How much does it matter?
Past president of Harvard University Mr. Lawrence Summers has mentioned that Legacy preferences are fundamental to the type of community of any educational institution which is private. In a book of 1998 by former president of Harvard University Mr. Derek Bok and former president of Princeton University Mr. William G. Bowen it is mentioned that the total rate of admission for legacy students was almost double compared to the other regular candidates. It is for this reason that legacy admission matters so much because almost half the population in any college is of legacy students, which in turn doubles the admission chance of any student having familial relationship with an alumnus of any institution. Even though it is so popular and most of the liberal art colleges and elite universities of the US have this system of admission, it is widely criticized one
Introduction
Legacy admission or legacy preferences are a kind of preference offered to specific applicants by organizations or institutions depending upon the familial relationship of them with an alumnus of that educational body. Therefore, students who get admission to any institution through legacy admission then they are referred to as legacy students or legacies. Though, this may happen in admission to all types of educational institutions it is most common for admission in colleges as well as universities. This system of admission is most common for admissions in American colleges and universities. Its emergence can be traced back to the post First World War period. Due to the high immigrant influx this system was adopted. It is estimated that almost 10 to 30 percent of the total strength of the classes in Ivy League institutions are legacies. Legacy admission is not mandatorily restricted to admissions in college but it can also be found during admission to collegiate sororities and fraternities and also in fraternal organizations like Freemasonry.
How much does it matter?
Past president of Harvard University Mr. Lawrence Summers has mentioned that Legacy preferences are fundamental to the type of community of any educational institution which is private. In a book of 1998 by former president of Harvard University Mr. Derek Bok and former president of Princeton University Mr. William G. Bowen it is mentioned that the total rate of admission for legacy students was almost double compared to the other regular candidates. It is for this reason that legacy admission matters so much because almost half the population in any college is of legacy students, which in turn doubles the admission chance of any student having familial relationship with an alumnus of any institution. Even though it is so popular and most of the liberal art colleges and elite universities of the US have this system of admission, it is widely criticized one