Director: Daniel C. Levy

Preferential Policies in Admission

(Entry by Daniel C. Levy)

PROPHE Summary:

The preferential admission of "legacies" (offspring of alumni) is an increasingly controversial policy in U.S. higher education, even arising in the present presidential campaign. Critics charge that the policy is both anti-meritocratic and inequitable. Defenders assert the right of institutions to criteria that reflect management self-interest, regarding financial support. Mostly, though, they minimize the extent to which offspring are favored. Though legacies comprise at least 10-15% of (private) Ivy League classes, and the acceptance rate is much higher for legacies than other applicants, debate surrounds how much this reflects favoritism or the formidable ability of alumni's children. The issue is hottest regarding the most prestigious institutions, mostly private.

The full article appears as "A helping hand for those who least need it," The Economist, January 8, 2004, reposted in the EDUCAR listserv (shown with permission. Inscription at www.educarchile.cl and there will soon be an archive of EDUCAR pieces at www.educarchile.cl/modulos/noticias/constructor/investigador.asp).

PROPHE Observation:

Especially in very stratified higher education systems, which include many with both private and public sectors, the issue of who gets admitted is vital regarding merit and equity. In many countries the most selective universities are public, but the growing private sector includes examples of selective or semi-selective institutions. The U.S. remains easily the leading system with highly selective, prestigious private universities and colleges, and preferential legacy policies also exist at the country's more modest private institutions. How legacy policies may develop or evolve remains uncertain for countries where alumni loyalty and giving lack tradition but where private institutions hope to build such commitment.