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> Isn't the purpose of these donations to help your children, and their children, to get into the school? There is certainly a subset that thinks like that. "
by jpmattia 13y ago
> Isn't the purpose of these donations to help your children, and their children, to get into the school?
There is certainly a subset that thinks like that. "Legacy" admission to a top tier school is probably not doing anyone any good, but that is a separate can of worms.
But to your point above: There are a serious number of donors who believe that they are doing a small part in improving society. As an example: Few people outside of tech know the name Cecil Green, but his donations have had lasting effect on several generations of students.
- alexeisadeski3 13y ago>"Legacy" admission to a top tier school is probably not doing anyone any good Well it presumably helps the donor and his family. Not problematic IMO: You're paying for services rendered. Don't see anything wrong with that...
- glesica 13y agoWell then you really can't talk about a "meritocracy" with a straight face. Unless you define "merit" to mean "your parents have lots of money", which is a big part of how many people would argue "merit" is truly defined in the "real world" (along with race and gender).
- alexeisadeski3 13y agoThe only time I talk about meritocracy with a straight face is before the punchline.
- glesica 13y agoHehe, well we agree on that...
- jpmattia 13y ago> Well it presumably helps the donor and his family. Only in some ways. Folks definitely know they are legacy admits, and it wasn't clear to me that the resulting college experience helped either the donor or the family compared to more sensible placement. As for the university, it might help in the short run financing, but eventually the admissions committees might notice that the legacy folks are taking up spaces from future donors of higher caliber.