I wonder if schools with presidents and/or admissions deans who are alumni of the institutions will be more reluctant to drop legacy preference as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Met an alum of a T25 this week. He said boosters were getting annoyed bc they just wanted to know how much - is it 5 or 10 million (to get their kids in)? It was surreal as the lead into I was saying I don’t know how you can dismantle AA and leave legacy in place…. He told me AA was racist, but went on to say legacy is poorly managed bc there is no price list. Elites really out of touch with reality…

What's crazy is that the schools can basically name their price. All this SC does is increase the minimum amount of spend required to get on the development list.

For a T25 I bet you need to have 8 figures committed to the school for each generation of entrants.

A price list? So déclassé. This isn't a trading floor.

+1
The links between the development offices and admissions offices are strong so don't worry too much. These "boosters" are not giving that kind of $$ or they'd know their kid was likely to be admitted. They don't give you some minimum amount and the donors have usually been giving over time, especially recently since the schools and families don't want the optics of a $10 million gift the year before a kid is admitted.

Anonymous wrote:Met an alum of a T25 this week. He said boosters were getting annoyed bc they just wanted to know how much - is it 5 or 10 million (to get their kids in)? It was surreal as the lead into I was saying I don’t know how you can dismantle AA and leave legacy in place…. He told me AA was racist, but went on to say legacy is poorly managed bc there is no price list. Elites really out of touch with reality…

What's crazy is that the schools can basically name their price. All this SC does is increase the minimum amount of spend required to get on the development list.

For a T25 I bet you need to have 8 figures committed to the school for each generation of entrants.

A price list? So déclassé. This isn't a trading floor.

Anonymous wrote:In name many, in reality none. It will just be a hidden secret. Not every legacy will be measured the same. Mega donor alum’s kids will still get in. But not every legacy applicant will get special treatment.

But "mega donor" is open to everyone, legacy and non-legacy, if you can pay. Lots of wealth foreigners who become a "mega donor" to establish a relationship with the school and pave the way for their kids to attend.

The mega donor list is very short relative to the legacy list.

Met an alum of a T25 this week. He said boosters were getting annoyed bc they just wanted to know how much - is it 5 or 10 million (to get their kids in)? It was surreal as the lead into I was saying I don’t know how you can dismantle AA and leave legacy in place…. He told me AA was racist, but went on to say legacy is poorly managed bc there is no price list. Elites really out of touch with reality…

Anonymous wrote:Dartmouth will be last

I agree. I’m a Dartmouth alum, and a legacy myself, and my brother and a cousin also went there. Part of the reason kids choose to go to Dartmouth is because of that community aspect of the school.

Both my kids are at other colleges and I’m fine with that, but it’s odd to me that people desperately want this thing with social cachet but simultaneously want to kill the very thing that gives it that cachet. If you just want an excellent education, you can go to your state flagship and do really well in life.

But, the world changes and we adapt and move on, so it goes.

Anonymous wrote:Dartmouth will be last

Dartmouth alum here who believes the same.

Alumni donation rate is very high (among top 10) and the school is expanding enrollment and physical plant, which will require more funding.

Also, the "fit" of incoming students is a major issue due to the remote location, smaller size (for now) and resulting mental health issues in the student body. Admissions dean has said repeatedly that legacy applicants will be more likely to attend, and succeed, at Dartmouth.

Anonymous wrote:When Penn makes it official I think they will be 1st ivy to end legacy admissions. Right now it's slimmed down - no suggestion for legacies to apply ED and no special orientation tour and it's merely "considered".

Stanford may do it too. They already separate "development admits" as a different category than legacy.

Penn is just playing the game by reclassifying priority legacy kids as special donor cases, which is what all the schools will do. And nothing will change with faculty kids or athletes. In reality little will change. The schools all know a lot of donations keep rolling in with the vague idea/hope it might confer legacy advantages for their kids. If it's clear no more legacy admissions, the donations will shrink notably.

Dartmouth will be last

In name many, in reality none. It will just be a hidden secret. Not every legacy will be measured the same. Mega donor alum’s kids will still get in. But not every legacy applicant will get special treatment.

When Penn makes it official I think they will be 1st ivy to end legacy admissions. Right now it's slimmed down - no suggestion for legacies to apply ED and no special orientation tour and it's merely "considered".

Stanford may do it too. They already separate "development admits" as a different category than legacy.

Anonymous wrote:

Amherst announced it was dropping legacies in 2021.

Yes but it only went into effect for the past 2023-24 admission year (last year).

There will be some virtue signaling for a while. The schools with very large endowments may drop legacy admission forever, but others will trickle back over time. Hi

Coming reduction in college age population, increasing interest in trades, and other factors will thin the number of US colleges.

Sure TO will continue to increase applications for the top 50 or so schools, everybody likes to play the lottery but over time supply will outpace demand and admission strategies will change.

Anonymous wrote:Harvard and Princeton will be most reluctant to end legacy.

Wesleyan and Carnegie Mellon just announced they are dropping legacy. Amherst just did and last year's class was the first one with no legacy spots. Penn quietly changed their policy starting with class of 2026 but didn't make a formal announcement. They may soon.

I predict Brown and Pomona/Claremont or Swarthmore will be next to announce they are dropping legacy.

Amherst announced it was dropping legacies in 2021.

Anonymous wrote:Harvard and Princeton will be most reluctant to end legacy.

Wesleyan and Carnegie Mellon just announced they are dropping legacy. Amherst just did and last year's class was the first one with no legacy spots. Penn quietly changed their policy starting with class of 2026 but didn't make a formal announcement. They may soon.

I predict Brown and Pomona/Claremont or Swarthmore will be next to announce they are dropping legacy.

Penn still has a legacy preference, it’s just been slimmed down.