What percentage of admissions to Ivy League schools are "legacy admissions"?

Answer 1

Some colleges are famous for admitting a lot of students who have family members who previously graduated. Two schools famous for this are Harvard and Notre Dame, but a lot of schools do it.

But what exactly do you mean by a "legacy admission?" If you mean that the kid got in just because his parent went there, then I'd say the % is close to zero. Good schools like Harvard and Notre Dame take only students who are good enough to succeed there. There arent going to take a kid who will fail or do badly, just because the kids parent went there 40 years ago.

When they are deciding who to admit, one of the things they can add to the balance is, whether or not the kid really has a good feel for the school and whether or not the kid is likely to show up if they do admit. So in both cases, legacies are a good deal for the school and the student. The school gets a student who is already familiar with the layout, and the student gets to go to a place that they already have an attachment to. The kid doesnt get admitted and then go somewhere else. When schools admit legacies, they almost always actually show up! (as long as it was the kids idea to apply there, and not a pushy parent!)

Answer 2

I heard that it's 10%