On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:25:41 -0700, George Plimpton
wrote:

On 4/17/2012 9:01 PM, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:54:21 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

On Apr 17, 11:21 pm, Ed wrote:
On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:22:08 -0700 (PDT), "



wrote:
On Apr 17, 9:45 am, Ed wrote:

It is true that there are a few legacy students. But the number is
almost non existent. For example the freshman class at Harvard is
about 1700. Out of that number I would estimate the number of legacy
students at maybe 4. Probably less than 4. That comes out to about
0.2 percent.

Harvard's legacies may run as high as 30%:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/20...fitzsimmons-le...

Ed Huntress

I think my figure is more accurate if you define a Legacy Student as a
student that would not be admitted if the student was not the child of
someone famous or the child of an alumnae.

There are certainly many students whose parents attended the same
school. But that is mostly because the parents were successful and
lived in an area with good schools. And the parents actively
encouraged the child to excel in school. It does not surprise me that
a child brought up by Ivy League parents tend to be intelligent and
believe in studying.

If you read those links and other sources, they're talking about
students who were *admitted* largely, or partly, because of their
legacy status.





I know three people whom you might consider Legacy Students, but I do
not. One made a lot of money by working at start up companies in
California, but then got his MBA at the University of Washington and
now is a professor at a Swiss business school.

A second one got her Phd at Harvard and now is a European History
professor at the University of Texas.

The third one got her MBA , worked for a while and then went to Boston
University as a Phd candidate in Economics. But did not get her Phd.
Well maybe she has by now. I think she completed all the courses ,but
never wrote her thesis. She now works for the government in
Washington , D. C.

From your cite.

Fitzsimmons also said that Harvard’s undergraduate population is
comprised of approximately 12 to 13 percent legacies, a group he
defined as children of Harvard College alumni and Radcliffe College
alumnae.

We know the number is closer to 20%, just from the figures in _The
Economist_ and elsewhere, taken from Harvard's own figures.

There is an entire book, or maybe two, written about this subject.
It's been well researched. I also spent some time looking through the
professional journal sites, which are all paid academic sources, and
they confirm the conclusions posted on the free sites.



Like I said, I do not count someone as a Legacy Student unless they
would not have gotten into the college except they were the child of
someone famous. Al Gore might fit my definition.

Most of the legacy students who are admitted with sub-par SATs and/or
grades got there not because they are famous, but because their
parents contribute to the schools. I'm hammered monthly by Washington
& Lee.g That's what top private schools live on, and it's a big
influence in admitting children of those contributors.

One of the sources calculates that being a legacy student is worth 160
points in SAT scores.

--
Ed Huntress

I still think my figures are more accurate. The Harvard website says
that having a parent that is an alumnus only makes a difference if two
students are equal in other respects.

Don't believe them on that point. If you want more sources, I'll
supply them.

Harvard and Princeton are full of legacy students,

Harvard's undergraduate student body is about 12%-13% legacy admits.
Cut the ****.

As I said, the percentage is higher than the admissions departments
are willing to admit:

"At Elite Colleges, Legacy Status May Count More Than Was Previously
Thought"

http://chronicle.com/article/Legacys...May-Be/125812/

There's a lot more out there if you look, particularly if you look in
the education journals.

--
Ed Huntress