New York Times, Room for Debate: Why Do Top Schools Still Take Legacy Applicants?:

A recent article in The Times about the pressure felt by Ivy League alumni to get their children into their alma maters — and by those children to get into their parents’ colleges — demonstrated that legacy preferences are still a big part of the admissions process at top schools.

Why do legacies still carry so much clout in the admissions process? With competition intense and with the oversupply of qualified applicants, why does giving preference to the children of graduates make sense anymore?

• John C. Brittain (University of the District of Columbia School of Law), Bad for Diversity
• Michele Hernandez (College Admissions Consultant), Athletes Are the Problem
• Richard D. Kahlenberg (Century Foundation), Affirmative Action for the Rich
• Peter Sacks (Author, Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education), Hard-Core Economics
• Terry L. Shepard & Debra J. Thomas (former college administrators), How Do You Define Merit?
• Stephen Trachtenberg (former President, George Washington University), Respect for Tradition