Isn't legacy a reminiscence of the nobles' privileges? (heredity) Why does it perpepuate?

Question

Isn't it discrimnatory? I am not a US citizen, and I haven't heard of any similar privileges in foreign universities.

You say that smart parents who attended a university have higher chances to see their "smart" kids to attend the same school compared to other kids who have the same level...Is there any merit for students who were born with parents who have attended top schools? Merit only comes along with assiduity, performance and work. To my own knowledge, being born from Harvard or Yale alumnis doesn't attribute any merit to oneself...! Furthermore, the fact that there are different factors which are taken into consideration for admission breaks down your hypothesis. No student is exactly the same as another; the combination SAT scores-grades-essay-teacher recommendations always varies between two students, so your argument falls apart! And plus, what makes you think that I was refering to Oxbridge when I mentionned foreign universities? Are you assuming that solely US or British top universities are worthy of consideration? What a pity!

Your arrogance and senile attitude were not quite the elements I was expecting after such a long and developed response, Matt. If you think you know better foreign and european universities than I do, and try to impose your narrow-minded vacuous argument, you are simply wrong. I have the chance to live in Europe, in a democratic country called "France" and I can tell you that being admitted to HEC or Sciences Po Paris is only based on how well you do on entrance exams called "concours d'entrée" and also on your academic performance. Nobody writes a biography on one's application or background information; the universities choose the applicants based on several (real) exams, not filling-bubbles exams like the SATs. As a French university says: "On n’entre pas à Louis le Grand à cause de son nom, mais y passer peut contribuer à s’en faire un." [one doesn't get admitted to Louis le Grand University because of one's name, but getting into it can make somebody a name]

Well, I see that no one can explain this threat to equity (legacy) without pointing one's country's flaws. Of course France has many problems, like racism, antisemitism, xenophobia etc..20% of its citizens voted for Le Pen during the last presidential elections, an antisemitic, full of hatred, fascist and violent candidate. But still, comparing one's country's problems with one another does not answer my question...Thanks for trying though. It only convinced me that "legacy" is wrong.

Answer 1

"[you] haven heard of any similar privileges"

Well then they must not exist if you have not heard of such a thing. I wish I lived your egalitarian, meritocratic utopia.

Answer 2

"Legacy" in the US universities is definitely an old tradition, but that doesn't make it wrong. And it is discriminatory in the sense that all college admissions are discriminatory. That is, it is the job of the admissions committee to discriminate among all the candidates - which ones shall be admitted?

You are suggesting that there is some way to decide which students should be admitted that would be more fair? What would that be? GPA? But everyone knows that some high schools are tougher than others. What about SATs? There have been numerous comments on Yahoo about how unfair that is!
The schools have to decide based on many factors. And especially in private schools it is not correct to assume that the purpose of the school is to find applicants who have the highest academic credentials without regard for anything else.
Admissions have to consider academics, and also, what students will fit in best on the campus, who will be comfortable, who will take advantage of the opportunities, who will contribute to the campus life. Who will be accepted, and then will actually show up for classes in September!
A big advantage of legacies is that when you have a legacy applicant , that person actually knows something about your school. They are applying because they actually think your school is the right one, not just because they are randomly shotgunning applications or because they heard from someone that it was a good school. And when legacies are accepted, they almost always matriculate - they actually come to the school.

So, legacies are a good deal for the school. And, given two candidates who are equal in their qualifications, most schools would accept a legacy over an equally well qualified non-legacy.
However, schools prosper when they get good students, so most schools would not sacrifice quality to get a legacy. If two students are not equal, then being a legacy will not get you admitted over someone who is clearly a better match for the school.

I interviewed many, many applicants for an elite school I attended. Many were legacies and were not accepted. But the parents who attended the school years ago were mostly very smart and successful, so their kids were mostly very smart and well prepared for college, and they really knew what that school was all about, so a lot of them got in.

ps you are just fooling yourself if you think that admissions to elite schools around the world are not based on networking and connections -- please don't tell me that Oxbridge is an open admissions process!!!! And in many countries around the world, admission to elite schools is based almost totally on family connections and networking. If you think otherwise then you are simply don't know what you are talking about.

What is the point of posting a question if all you want is for people to pat you on the shoulder and tlel you how smart you are and how much they agree with you. THat kind of thinking will not get you very far if you imagine that you are a candidate for an elite school.

ps. Thanks for reminding me how France is a classless society that treats all its immigrants with dignity and where everyone, no matter their race or ethnic origin (especially Protestants, Jews, Africans and Arabs) has a full share in the riches of the country without discrimination. If only we could all be si parfait!

Answer 3

I suspect that, at this point, "legacy" preference is largely a fund raising tool. Alumni may feel that they are enhancing their descendants' chances by maintaining ties (i.e. donating) to their Alma Mater. Universities like to keep the flow of old money flowing across the generations. As private universities in the U.S. may not be as well subsidized by the government as might be comparable institutions in other countries, they are greatly dependent on such "development" efforts. So, while not an egalitarian practice, this may nonetheless be a pragmatic policy.