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I would expect the children of Harvard students to perform above the general average academically and the children of faculty even moreso. Educational attainmen

by User23 3y ago

I would expect the children of Harvard students to perform above the general average academically and the children of faculty even moreso. Educational attainment is very much an heritable trait. On any practicable merit based admissions system there are still going to be considerably more applicants than open spots. Harvard also doesn’t want to become a school exclusively for the children of successful Chinese immigrants which is what it would be if it went strictly by test scores and GPA. And for what it’s worth, those Chinese parents don’t want it to be either. As others have noted one of if not the main advantage of attending an ivy is networking with the kind of people whose families can ensure them a spot at Harvard and beyond.

ok123456 3y ago
You're saying it shouldn't matter because legacy admits have a 'heritable trait' of educational attainment in one breath, then saying there's no way to compete with Chinese students in the next. Which one is it? Maybe it's not so heritable.
- User23 3y ago
  I understand where you’re coming from, but I think if you read what I wrote charitably you’ll find there’s no essential conflict. One possible source of confusion is mistaking “heritable” for genetic. But a heritable trait can be cultural too. For example a child with Spanish speaking parents is considerably more likely to have the speaks Spanish trait. Similarly, Asian immigrants to the USA have an admirable cultural bias toward studying hard and their average test scores have skyrocketed over the past couple decades, far too quickly for it to be a genetic effect.
  - ok123456 3y ago
    It would have to be read very charitably. Now you're lumping Asians, who the admissions system has systematically and openly disadvantaged, with legacy admits by both calling their ability to attend a school as a heritable trait. Yet in one case it's actively discriminated against, and the other it's given preferential treatment. If the goal were to control against the 'heritability' of educational obtainment, wouldn't the primary factor in admissions be weighting parental educational obtainment negatively?

by User23 3y ago

ok123456 3y ago

You're saying it shouldn't matter because legacy admits have a 'heritable trait' of educational attainment in one breath, then saying there's no way to compete with Chinese students in the next. Which one is it? Maybe it's not so heritable.

User23 3y ago
I understand where you’re coming from, but I think if you read what I wrote charitably you’ll find there’s no essential conflict. One possible source of confusion is mistaking “heritable” for genetic. But a heritable trait can be cultural too. For example a child with Spanish speaking parents is considerably more likely to have the speaks Spanish trait. Similarly, Asian immigrants to the USA have an admirable cultural bias toward studying hard and their average test scores have skyrocketed over the past couple decades, far too quickly for it to be a genetic effect.
- ok123456 3y ago
  It would have to be read very charitably. Now you're lumping Asians, who the admissions system has systematically and openly disadvantaged, with legacy admits by both calling their ability to attend a school as a heritable trait. Yet in one case it's actively discriminated against, and the other it's given preferential treatment. If the goal were to control against the 'heritability' of educational obtainment, wouldn't the primary factor in admissions be weighting parental educational obtainment negatively?