Legacy applicants at ND are 2x more likely to be admitted
by NavyJoe (2019-03-18 13:58:50)
Edited on 2019-03-18 14:05:16

In reply to: I doubt that there is any appreciable difference in quali-  posted by 1NDGal

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This has been discussed here before, if I recall correctly.

There was an article in the WSJ last year that examined legacy admits at the Top-25 schools. ND is among the most preferential to legacy among all the schools.


The article I link may be behind a pay-wall. I subscribe to WSJ so I can't tell if this is one of the open-access stories or not.



I think the statistic was that the % of legacies is higher
by 1NDGal  (2019-03-18 15:15:04)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

than at other schools.

I’ll try to find that ND graphic from last year, which I think shows the # of legacy applicants and % of the class who are legacies. Without those figures the degree of preference is impossible to measure.

I think the word "preferential" is not appropriate here
by ufl  (2019-03-18 14:33:14)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

It doesn't say that legacy applicants have a greater chance of admission than a non-legacy applicant for a given level of credentials. It says that the portion of all legacy applicants admitted is much greater than the portion of all non-legacy applicants admitted.

This might be a measure of loyalty. That is, for ND compared to other schools, a greater number of highly qualified sons and daughters apply.

The article mentions this as a problem for achieving ethnic and economic diversity (which it is). It doesn't attempt to assess whether legacy applicants get preferential treatment.

Ok, I agree the article does not say that
by NavyJoe  (2019-03-18 14:45:42)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

However, I believe that to the extent an apples-to-apples comparison is possible, if two applicants have the same credentials, the legacy candidate is going to have a greater chance of admission. I am skeptical that the bona fides of the legacy pool are statistically superior to those of the non-legacy applicant pool to justify the 2x admission acceptance rate.
You can be skeptical, but that isn't data. *
by NDWahoo  (2019-03-18 18:09:28)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

In 2015, Legacy admit rate was 45%...20% for non-legacy (link)
by NavyJoe  (2019-03-18 18:24:22)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I doubt ND can, or would, offer more granular data than that.

that shows admit rates, not preferential treatment
by NDWahoo  (2019-03-19 09:13:19)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

As others have said, one explanation would be that high achieving legacies tend to apply to Notre Dame at a higher rate than the high achieving general population.

I don't have the data but I'm not so sure you're correct
by ufl  (2019-03-18 14:49:37)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

One factor that might be relevant is that I'm pretty sure the "bubble" is rather "deep". That is, there is a large number of applicants in the range from just below to just above the cutoff for admission. Thus a slight advantage to anything (including legacy status) could lead to a significant change in the mix of accepted applicants.