3 ms·

Having grown up in East Lansing, having family that have graduated from Michigan State, and currently work there, they do prioritize legacy. It’s even asks on

Having grown up in East Lansing, having family that have graduated from Michigan State, and currently work there, they do prioritize legacy. It’s even asks on the admissions form. This is a country and world of competition. This includes students but also thriving schools. The best way to create a successful business is loyalty, which bring value to your asset. Ivy League schools would not be what they are today (Ivy League) without legacy. Sorry, but you can’t have both capitalism and socialism.

jrochkind1 8y ago
Prioritizing "legacy" admissions and making it easier to get admitted if you are "legacy" is quite a different thing than what I thought you were originally suggesting, that schools have a disproportionate number of "legacy" students because they are "simply good at promoting legacy." It's because they make it _easier to get in_ if you are legacy. You can consider that a method of "promotion", but it's not that they "simply go there" because they disproportionately _desire_ to, it's that the schools preferentially admit them. You can think this is fine, but in fact it makes most people kinda mad, especially in the case of elite schools, because they know how valuable a degree from an elite school is as a credential, and prioritizing the children of people who already have such a credential to get it seems unfair. You can think it's appropriate, but it's dishonest to imply it's not happening. I do like your implied admission that we should not expect "meritocracy" from capitalism. Let's start being clear about that, agreed.