Legacy preference gives the children of alumni at selective schools an advantage when they are applying to a parent’s alma mater. As it turns out, Johns Hopkins has already done away with this controversial practice.
Ronald J. Daniels, Hopkins’ president, told the Association of American Law Schools that one of the most fundamental roles of a university in a democracy is to promote social mobility. He also shared that one of the top drivers of inequity in admissions is the legacy admissions practice.
Since making the change 10 years ago the incoming freshman class dropped from 12.5 percent “legacies” to only 3.5 in 2019.
Additionally, during the same time period, the number of students eligible for Pell Grants increased from 9 percent to 19.1 percent indicating a higher population of students with financial need.
Hopkins continues to ask about an applicant’s legacy status but no longer takes it into consideration for acceptance, only to gauge how much impact the changes have on the program.
