The term “legacy admissions boost” is among elite college admissions’ most widely circulated terms. But is there any truth behind this idea? Do the children of alumni from particular institutions get a leg up over other applicants when applying to that institution? Our faithful readers already know Ivy Coach’s answer: a resounding yes!

We’ve published many articles describing the unfair advantages that legacy applicants get in the elite college admissions process, but now, we will put our statistician hats on and break down what the numbers say about this advantage. One thing’s certain — college admissions grow more competitive each year. According to Ivy Coach’s analysis of publicly available admissions data, admissions rates at the top 25 universities in the nation decreased by an average of 6.96% between 2013 and 2023. Every slot counts when so many apply to these schools and so few enter the door. As such, it’s time we hold elite schools accountable for giving legacies a fast track to a life-changing education.

The Proof is in the Data Pudding: Legacies Get a Significant Advantage

Misconceptions swirl around the advantages given to legacy applicants. Some say that the boost amounts to little more than the equivalent of a few SAT points that tip the scales between equally competitive applicants in favor of the legacy. The data, however, paints another picture. When John Hopkins University phased out legacy admissions over the 2010s, the results were dramatic: from a starting percentage of 12.5% in 2009, by 2020, only 3-5% of campus could claim legacy status. That is more of an effect than a mere tipping of the scales!

Others contend that the legacy boost is justified because it is a surefire way of ensuring that alumni are enthusiastic about donating to their alma mater. Wrong again! Research has yet to prove a definitive link between the legacy boost and alumni giving. We at Ivy Coach know that elite schools only weigh a financial incentive when considering development cases, A.K.A., the children of major donors. The admissions boost given to these usually underperforming applicants is justified when considering how their parents make robust financial aid accessible to all other students. This is the only admissions boost that should be protected. Legacy applicants (and recruited athletes, for that matter!), it’s time you were given the same consideration as everyone else.

Perversely, the legacy admissions boost is most pronounced at the most competitive schools in the country. From 2010 to 2015 at Harvard University, for example, the acceptance rate for legacies was 33%, compared to an average acceptance rate for all applicants across this period that hung at a slim 6%, according to an analysis by PBS NewsHour. When The Daily Princetonian crunched the numbers, they found that applicants to the Class of 2022 at Princeton University had an admission rate of 31.7%. These figures make that 12.5% figure found at JHU in 2009 seem positively democratic!

What Ever Happened to American Meritocracy?

Suppose this mounting evidence we have laid out isn’t enough to convince you of the legacy admissions boost; fear not. There’s more evidence. When The New York Times took up this issue, they found that legacy applicants were 33% more likely to be admitted than their counterparts among applicants to elite private colleges with identical test scores. There is undoubtedly some variation between schools, and many elite schools do not consider legacy status at all (we salute you, JHU, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the California Institute of Technology!). But the unfortunate reality is that this un-American system of advantaging those who have already been born into the advantage of a well-educated household is alive and well.

With Affirmative Action limited to the Roberts Loophole and a culture of tension and distrust pervading the higher education sphere, we call upon the nation’s top schools to take a stand against this vestige of a much less tolerant time. Until these institutions do, we will continue to call for an end to legacy admissions from the rooftops. Every ambitious high school student deserves to compete on a level playing field!