As colleges look for new ways to ensure diversity, they debate the merits of ‘legacy’ admissions

Amherst College for many years would instruct its admissions staff to give preference to those whose parents had graduated from the school.

A notation also would appear in the students’ application files, flagging that they were so-called legacies.

But last year for the first time, Matthew L. McGann, dean of admission and financial aid at the highly selective, small liberal arts college in Massachusetts, didn’t instruct his team to give that preference. And there was no notice in the file. The result: Only 6% of students admitted to Amherst’s freshman class this year were legacies, down from 11% when the preference was still in place.

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“This is one more in a series of things that Amherst has done to try to broaden access and opportunity, to really be a place that’s trying to lead among our peers in growing a more racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse student body,” he said.

Amherst, which admits only about 10% of applicants, made its decision to discontinue the legacy preference in October 2021, about a year and a half before the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to ban race-conscious admissions practices.

Now, as colleges rethink admissions and consider new ways to ensure diversity in the aftermath of the court’s decision, more are looking closely at the legacy preference, long considered by many to give another edge to whiter, wealthier families at highly competitive schools. At the same time, some have worried that getting rid of the legacy preference could alienate families whose members have attended and supported the colleges for generations, yielding strong bonds and philanthropic giving.

President Joe Biden’s administration told colleges in August to reconsider their policies about legacy in a letter urging schools to expand access and create diverse student bodies.

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“Colleges and universities can examine admission preferences, such as those based on legacy status or donor affiliation, that are unrelated to a prospective applicant’s individual merit or potential, that further benefit privileged students, and that reduce opportunities for others who have been foreclosed from such advantages,” said the Aug. 14 letter from the federal education and justice departments.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education in July began investigating Harvard’s policies on legacy in response to a complaint from a civil rights group. During the trial that led to the Supreme Court’s decision on race-based admissions, data showed that 34% of Harvard’s so-called domestic legacy applicants got admitted over six years, compared with 6% of those who did not have a legacy connection, according to the Washington Post.

Because colleges weigh and define legacy differently, each will have to consider whether or how to alter their policies, said Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president for government relations at the American Council on Education. If a college decides that its use is leading to unequal outcomes for applicants from different backgrounds, then a change would be necessary, he said.

But others, he said, may find it really doesn’t have bearing and actually has a lot of benefits, including building a college community over generations.

“Colleges need some time and space to absorb what the ruling means to them, and how to respond to that and meet the needs of the institution, especially of their students and their communities,” he said.

Some colleges took action even before the decision. Bryn Mawr, which accepts 31% of applicants, stopped considering legacy in 2017, according to a spokesperson. Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, a selective research university, discontinued legacy preference , while the University of Pittsburgh, which accepts 49% of applicants, disclosed it had stopped considering legacy in 2020.

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Joan Gabel, who became Pitt’s chancellor last month, said she supports the decision.

“I think doing away with inside tracks is a good thing,” she said. “Leveling the playing field is a big part of what higher education can and should do for communities. And so I think it was the right choice.”

Some colleges are just starting to talk about making a change.

Pennsylvania State University doesn’t consider legacy — or race or ethnicity — during admissions but does factor in all three, as well as other characteristics, in deciding who is placed at its main campus in University Park and who will go to one of its branch campuses.

“In light of the Supreme Court decision on the use of race in admissions, Penn State is reviewing its admissions and campus placement procedures,” the school said in a statement.

At Haverford College, Jess Lord, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid, said the school is thinking critically about the pros and cons of continuing to give legacy preference. Less than 10% of students have a relative who went to the college, which accepts about 13% of applicants, while 3% to 5% have a parent who went.

Even if Haverford were to stop considering legacy, Lord, like officials at some other universities, said he doubts it would greatly change the racial makeup of the college. While legacy is a factor, its weight at Haverford is pretty small, he said.

“I don’t believe it has nearly as much impact as some may think it does,” he said.

The college is committed to continuing to diversify its student body, no matter what stance it ultimately takes on legacy, he said. At Haverford, more than 10% of students are Black and nearly 13% are Hispanic.

Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber, noting that the school’s alumni are becoming increasingly diverse, said he, too, doubted that losing legacy as a consideration would appreciably alter student demographics.

“It’s not going to be the difference maker when it comes to racial diversity,” he said in an Inquirer interview in December.

About 12.5% of Princeton students are children of alumni at the Ivy League university, one of the most selective in the nation: It admits only 5.7% of applicants.

“We think it’s an important part of who we are as an institution that creates a community that persists long after somebody graduates,” he said. “Legacy works in our admissions process as a literal tie breaker.”

Princeton’s trustees established a committee in late August to examine the university’s admissions practices, following the court decision, with recommendations expected by the end of this academic year.

Not every university would discuss legacies. The University of Pennsylvania, which accepts single-digit percentages of applicants each year, did not answer The Inquirer’s questions on legacy preferences.

Amherst’s McGann said it’s too early to tell whether the change in its legacy preference will significantly influence the racial makeup of the class over time. About 16% of students were Latino last fall and 11% Black.

When it changed its legacy preference, the school also increased its financial aid to students from families with low and moderate incomes, so it may be hard to determine what, if any, impact the loss of legacy will have, he said.

“Exactly how all these things play together remains to be seen,” he said.

This year, he said, he doesn’t expect a dramatic difference in underrepresented students. But 19% of the class are first-generation college students, the largest percentage the college has seen, he said.

John E. Jones III, president of Dickinson College in Carlisle, which accepts about 43% of applicants, said the school celebrates legacies because it means honoring families over generations who have chosen the school and support it. At commencement, alumni are given the option of presenting the diploma to a graduating relative.

But, he said, legacy applicants do not receive any extra weight in the admissions process.

“We don’t put our finger on the scale,” he said. “We measure them the same way we measure everybody else.”

About 5% of Dickinson students are legacies, he said, and often those families donate generously to the college. Senior Sophie Asbell, of Cherry Hill, is the 13th member of her family to attend Dickinson. Her father and grandfather went there, as well as cousins and other extended family.

There is a center for Jewish life on campus named after her grandfather, Milton B. Asbell.

“She’s brilliant,” Jones said. “She could have gotten into any number of places.”

But she chose Dickinson.

“I’m lucky No. 13,” said Asbell, 21, a religion and Judaic studies major with a minor in Middle Eastern studies, who has a 3.88 GPA.

She said that she knew she wanted a small liberal arts college and that Dickinson had been a “household name” ever since she could remember. Her late grandfather, an orthodontist, would talk about how the school changed the trajectory of his life in a positive way, she said.

“I already felt like I had a history [with Dickinson] before I created my own,” she said. “I felt like I was an instant member of a community. And I feel more connected to my family. Dickinson bonds us.”

She agrees with Dickinson’s policy that legacy students shouldn’t get any special consideration in the admissions process.

“Making the college admissions process as equitable as it can be is very important,” she said.