A solid majority of respondents - 57 percent - said they oppose giving preference to legacy applicants, while 23 percent said they favor the practice. Another 21 percent said they had no opinion or did not answer. The poll was conducted from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 and has a margin of error of 4.7 percent with 95 percent confidence. The total adds up to more than 100 percent due to rounding.
"The rule of thumb is that, all things being equal, we will tilt in the favor of the student whose parents have gone to Brown," said Dean of Admission James Miller '73.
"Brown has a long tradition as an institution with a great sense of history and community. I think it's important for us, when possible, to continue that sense of tradition, community and commitment to families. It is part of the ethos and culture of Brown, as it is at a number of places," Miller said.
Miller cited alumni involvement as a major justification for giving preference to legacy applicants. "We, and all other private universities, rely heavily on the efforts of our alumni to sustain ourselves. We rely on our graduates to staff committees, donate money, recruit students and do a whole variety of things that (alumni of) public institutions don't do. In turn, I think it's important for us to continue to have continuity with families," he said.
Miller said the University's "financial aid programs are, relatively speaking, almost completely funded by graduates of the institution. Prior generations are funding the aspirations of the next generation, and that's something that really doesn't happen to any great degree at state institutions."
Though Miller did not have demographic data on legacy applicants, he said he expected that "they're probably from a higher socioeconomic background, but that's not necessarily true. They probably come from more professional families."
Miller said the Office of Admission has not recently considered revoking preferences for legacy applicants.
Students interviewed by The Herald were mostly opposed or indifferent to preferential treatment for legacy applicants.
"I'm the first in my family to graduate from high school, so in my case I don't think it's fair," said Priscilla Gamino '08.
Many students said they expected legacy students would be overrepresented because of their own merit. "I can understand that the admit rate will be higher, because children of alumni tend to have the kind of background that would help them get into Brown. But I think that a preference hinders the meritocracy that should be more in place," said Kurt Moriber '09.
Moriber and others said the University's motivation for employing legacy preference seems simple. "One word - money. It's all about alumni donations. I think there's nothing more to say about that," Moriber said.
"I see the merit as far as the expected donations and dedication to the University, but it seems like another way to marginalize low-income or first-generation applicants," said Steve Hazeltine '09.
But Tor Tarantola '08, president of the Brown Democrats, said he did not expect that eliminating legacy preference would harm the University financially "because what you're doing is broadening your donor base. Instead of having just one set of parents whose kids went to Brown, you'll have another set of parents. Parents don't donate $10,000 per kid who gets in. They give based on what they can, and what they're willing to give."
One legacy student, Nicholas Kay '09, said many people tend to exaggerate the advantage that legacies receive. "I think that people see legacy students as getting a much bigger boost than they actually do. It helps, but it's not going to get you in alone," Kay said. "I can't think of any legacy students who just slipped in somehow. Brown definitely is not an easy school to get into. You have to have the credentials before they even consider legacy."
Some students said the practice did not concern them. "I think it's fine. It didn't affect the way I thought about what schools I wanted to go to. That's just how the college admissions process works these days," said Richard Stein '10.
Other students said legacy preference is something of a necessary evil. "If the alumni have given the University donations, it's understandable, even though it doesn't really seem fair, strictly speaking," said Joe Larios '10.
"I think I would have been a strong applicant whether or not my parents had been alumni, but they were, and I'm fairly certain it gave me an advantage," said Ben Foley '07. "I haven't met any legacy students that I thought stood out as being unqualified."
