Spring Break
Legacy applicants given extra consideration
Slightly lower high school grades don't determine college performance
Issue date: 9/18/08
At Hopkins, the average high school GPA of students accepted as legacies is .05 lower than that of regularly accepted students.
The statistic was revealed by the Admissions Office and comes after a recent study at Duke University found that undergraduate legacy students, who make up a large percentage of Duke's student body, tend to underperform in a competitive college environment.
In the Hopkins admissions process, receiving the application of the child of alumni "causes us to give their applications an additional read. We take a little extra time to be sure of the decision we are making," said John Latting, dean of undergraduate admissions.
Latting went on to say that, "We ask things of [alumni] and we want them to be involved with the University. When we get such an application [from a legacy student], we send a note saying 'We received the application; We aren't going to make promises, but we just want to thank you for thinking of us for the next generation.' It's a courtesy."
In a subsequent interview, Latting said that because an extra person reads the applications of legacy students, "occasionally we make changes … There are a few who move from being denied to the waitlist and a few who move from the waitlist to being accepted."
Legacies have the unique resource of being able to turn to family members who have direct experience and established social networks when applying to universities.
When asked whether the University took past contributions from alumni into account when considering the applications of their children, Latting explained, "It's a human process. There are many ways to contribute. There are some alumni who have been extremely active, serving on committees, sitting on boards … We don't forget these things … It's not something that makes a big difference in the process, but it can make a difference."
According to the Office of Admissions, 68 freshmen with alumni parents enrolled in Hopkins this year, a significantly lower percentage of the student body compared to peer institutions. Latting said in a second interview that 380 applications were received from the children of alumni.
The statistic was revealed by the Admissions Office and comes after a recent study at Duke University found that undergraduate legacy students, who make up a large percentage of Duke's student body, tend to underperform in a competitive college environment.
In the Hopkins admissions process, receiving the application of the child of alumni "causes us to give their applications an additional read. We take a little extra time to be sure of the decision we are making," said John Latting, dean of undergraduate admissions.
Latting went on to say that, "We ask things of [alumni] and we want them to be involved with the University. When we get such an application [from a legacy student], we send a note saying 'We received the application; We aren't going to make promises, but we just want to thank you for thinking of us for the next generation.' It's a courtesy."
In a subsequent interview, Latting said that because an extra person reads the applications of legacy students, "occasionally we make changes … There are a few who move from being denied to the waitlist and a few who move from the waitlist to being accepted."
Legacies have the unique resource of being able to turn to family members who have direct experience and established social networks when applying to universities.
When asked whether the University took past contributions from alumni into account when considering the applications of their children, Latting explained, "It's a human process. There are many ways to contribute. There are some alumni who have been extremely active, serving on committees, sitting on boards … We don't forget these things … It's not something that makes a big difference in the process, but it can make a difference."
According to the Office of Admissions, 68 freshmen with alumni parents enrolled in Hopkins this year, a significantly lower percentage of the student body compared to peer institutions. Latting said in a second interview that 380 applications were received from the children of alumni.
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