#LeaveYourLegacy
ERN and more than 20 other education and civil rights groups have called on colleges presidents and boards of trustees to end the unfair and discriminatory legacy preference. Now we’re going further. Join ERN, Ed Mobilizer, and hundreds of alumni as we band together to work toward ending the discriminatory practice of legacy admissions. In the #LeaveYourLegacy campaign, we are pledging not to donate to our universities until they get rid of legacy admissions, a system designed to exacerbate inequity for higher education.
More on Legacy Admissions:
Most highly selective colleges and universities award a “legacy preference” in admissions to prospective students that claim a family member among institution alumni—a disproportionately white and wealthy group. The value of the preference is quite significant, equivalent to 160 extra points on the SAT. At top 30 universities, legacy students have a 45% greater chance of being admitted than non-legacy students and fill between 10% and 25% of all available slots. Several institutions have voluntarily ended use of a legacy preference (e.g., Johns Hopkins) or never used it in the first place (e.g., MIT) and at least one state, Colorado, spurred by ERN’s work has banned its use at public colleges. We would like more to do the same.
ERN’s Take on Legacy Admissions:
Learn More About Legacy Admissions:
- Memo: Elite College Admissions
- Great Colleges Don’t Need to Buy Love with Legacy Preference
- A Modest Proposal for Harvard University
Legacy in the News:
- New York Daily News, “Structural Racism at America’s Colleges“
- The Washington Post, “Colorado Bans Legacy Admission at Public Universities”
- Inside Higher Education, “More Scrutiny of Legacy Admissions”
- The New York Times, “End Legacy College Admissions”
- The Atlantic,“The Real Reason Legacy Preferences. Exist”
- The Atlantic, “Why We Ended Legacy Admissions at Johns Hopkins”
- The New York Times, “Texas A&M Ban on ‘Legacies’ Fuels Debate on Admissions”
- New York Daily News, “Elite Colleges or Private Clubs?”
- New America Foundation, A Debate Over Legacy Students
- The Atlantic, “College Admissions Are Still Unfair”