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Larz's avatar

My husband went to an ivy and he was rather poor growing up. (He was not a legacy).

He says not all legacy admissions are just buying your way in. A lot of children of legacys come from smart parents who can get in on their own merits but don't have Rockefeller money to donate a wing.

Banning legacy's is going to prevent a lot of worthy students from getting an elite education.

It will not stop uber wealthy family's from making a giant donation and getting their child in that way.

Also when are people going to wake up and realize the world isn't fair? Some people are just smarter, richer, better looking and good at rowing boats.

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Jim Veenbaas's avatar

I agree. Life isn’t fair. Everyone on this forum has immense privilege compared to basically half the world. However, this should not be an argument against meritocracy. Your husband should not have been admitted if he had lower scores. And he may be more capable in the workforce than all those who graduated ahead of him. That competency should be sorted out after graduation in the workforce.

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Larz's avatar

He was a National merit scholar with a flawless SAT score. Foh

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Jim Veenbaas's avatar

Then why would he be a legacy admission?

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Larz's avatar

The second sentence of my comment says 'he was not a legacy'.

You don't have to be something to have a nuanced opinion about it.

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Patricia J.'s avatar

I don't think we can totally regulate who is admitted, like legacy admits or sports admits, but race is a special problem that must be solved. Admitting a poorly prepared Latino student is just as wrong as denying qualified Asians, or in my parents' day, qualified Jews and Irish. It's a zero sum game at Harvard, unlike a state uni. Each person admitted means someone else didn't get it. If that's based on race, it isn't fair.

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Casey Jones's avatar

Race is a problem that must be solved? How about "all mean are created equal?" And/or, "judge by the content of character?"

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Patricia J.'s avatar

That is my point. The present affirmative action system is the opposite of that.

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Ray Andrews's avatar

What radically new ideas!

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Allie587's avatar

I don’t get your argument here. If some legacy students are worthy enough that they can get in without preferences, great! They would still be admitted if colleges eliminated legacy preferences.

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