The legacy admissions boost is alive and well at most elite colleges and universities, giving the children of alumni an edge over their counterparts. The University of Pennsylvania has historically been one of the worst offenders when it comes to legacy admissions. This Ivy League university used to furnish the children of alumni with a variety of opportunities to increase the likelihood of admission, but with American culture beginning to take a highly critical magnifying glass to this undemocratic process, things have begun to change. Let’s take a look at how Penn has adjusted its legacy admissions process to account for this scrutiny. 

According to Penn’s admissions office, “[The university appreciates] that attending Penn is a tradition for many families. The Admissions Office identifies legacy applicants based on the information provided in a student’s application and defines “legacy” as being either a child or grandchild of alumni. Legacies who apply to Penn—like all applicants—receive thorough consideration in the application process.” 

While this rhetoric still certainly enshrines an admissions edge for legacy applicants, it’s quite different from Penn’s previous statement on the subject, which was changed in 2022. Penn used to explicitly state that legacy applicants receive a boost during the Early Decision round, but, as Ivy Coach’s Brian Taylor is quoted as saying in a 2023 Daily Pennsylvanian article on this very subject, “They’re just being less candid now.”

How Does UPenn Define Legacy Status?

Penn has one of the most expansive definitions within the Ivy League of just who constitutes a legacy applicant. Not only do they give the grandchildren of alumni legacy status, but they also give the children or grandchildren of alumni of Penn’s graduate schools legacy status. In other words, the pool of legacies is much larger than at other schools. Until 2022, these applicants were also the beneficiary of a suite of programming aimed at giving them the best shot at crafting an admissible application, including Penn-sponsored events that gave these prospective students unique access to admissions officers. 

Why Legacy Status Should be Phased Out at Penn

Even though these blatantly unfair programs are a thing of the past, Penn still must go further. The only way to ensure that a pool of applicants who are overwhelmingly white and wealthy do not continue to reap the benefits of their upbringings at the expense of underrepresented applicants is by phasing out legacy admissions altogether — particularly after the outlawing of Affirmative Action.

As increasingly competitive admissions cycles continue to drive Penn’s acceptance rate downward (a mere 5.8% of applicants were accepted into the Class of 2027), there is no excuse for a lesser applicant with legacy status to take the place of a well-deserving applicant who didn’t grow up with such a privilege. The simple fact of being born into a household composed of Penn alumni is enough of an advantage — any more consideration is totally unnecessary!

Earlier this year, the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into Penn’s use of the legacy admissions boost. Why not get ahead of this probe and halt a practice that has long overstayed its welcome?

The Path Forward for Penn’s Legacy Admissions Process

The Ivy Coach solution to Penn’s legacy admission woes is two-fold: do away with the admissions boost given to children and grandchildren of alumni, but protect the admissions boost given to the children and grandchildren of major donors. The progeny of major donors, i.e. “development cases,’’ only make up a slim proportion of each admitted class, but giving them an admissions boost ensures that Penn’s generous financial aid program will not be jeopardized by disgruntled donors who pull funding because their child was denied admission. Penn’s accessibility to low-income students should not be gambled with a policy that doesn’t enshrine a development admissions preference.

This path forward will allow Penn to assume the responsibility that its Ivy League status bestows, taking a stand against legacy admissions sustainably.