Harvard freshman survey insights for class of 2028

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Interesting that legacy kids actually had higher scores than non-legacy kids.

nothing that 20 hours of private tutoring doesn't account for

My son is a legacy. 36 ACT, top of class at highly competitive private, national awards in two areas, nice person with solid friendships and does a lot of community service out of interest and care. People are already pretty explicitly stating that, if he gets in, it’s because he’s a legacy. I just remind him that, if the worst thing about his college process is that people attribute his admission to legacy, he should be thankful and move on performing well and ignore anyone who is saying it to be insulting while also recognizing that legacy in fact does help.

Just to say not all legacies have extra tutoring (he took ACT once, no tutoring).

It sounds like he's a great kid who doesn't need legacy to get into a competitive school.

Wouldn't it better if he felt like he earned it, instead of being burdened with the feeling that he only got in because his mom went there?

I suspect a lot of bright kids would prefer to feel confident they got in on their own merits. "Legacy" is a loser hook and that's going to bother them as they go forward in life - unless they're shallow and status obsessed and don't have a lot of self worth. I really think legacy is more of a burden for smart kids. It's a psychological hit.

I would absolutely utilize legacy status for my kid if it helped at all. I was a FGLI student at a regional state university, but the real world is built on relationships. Also, I haven’t donated a dime to any of these schools, while PP may have contributed donations over the years and brought something unique to campus years ago. Legacy students have something to contribute as well. Exposure to different types of students and backgrounds is a great thing for young adults.

Such is life. There are areas of life where we all have privilege we were born into.

Then don't say sh*t when a URM with similar stats gets admitted.

Well, the problem is, there aren’t many URMs with similar stats.

Then the URMs that do will have no problem getting admitted over your kid.

Thanks.

Sure, but there are vanishingly few of them. Only 1% of blacks and 2% of hispanics get a 1400+ on the SAT.
Meanwhile 7% of whites and 23% of asians get a 1400+ on the SAT.

Fine. Means that virtually all of those 1% and 2% URMs will get admitted to T25 level colleges if they so choose. 1500+ T10. They'll have the grades and ECs too.

PP here. Yes if people could just convince them all to apply.
The lack of competition among black students for those spots is just a little bit baffling.
With enough competition, you would see those scores rise in due course