Should the children of alumni be given higher consideration in admission decisions?

[GAA_Admin]

Should the children of alumni be given higher consideration in admission decisions? The UNC undergraduate admissions office considers “legacy” status of family members differently for in-state vs. out-of-state applicants. As admission standards have gotten higher and the number of fully qualified students applying to Carolina has grown steadily, many alumni are surprised to find their children turned down.

What do you think?

[jonathanshaw]

Absolutely, it helps to build stronger ties to the University.

[cliffk]

I know it's politically incorrect and all... but dang.... I'd like admissions to consider legacy status for my ONE and ONLY ONE child... I'd love her to have a chance to go to UNC. We loved our visit this summer and she loved the computer science program... I hope she qualifies on her own, but, but, but....

[bonvivantnc]

Absolutely. For children of alumni who have been raised as UNC fans, visit Carolina several times a month, go to games, have parents who contribute every year to UNC, and would qualify under normal circumstances but for the number of applications received by UNC, alumni children should receive higher consideration. These children are extremely devastated when they are not acccepted. It is not a minor disappointment.

[kipar13]

Yes, definitely. To do otherwise seems to penalize the children of proud Carolina grads who have had to move out of state after graduation. And to be honest, why should I continue to support the university if I know that they are going to cut me and my children off since I no longer live in NC?

[nippen]

As stated above, I think they should, to keep ties to the university going. Not saying that an unqualified and marginal applicant should be accepted, but it's SO competitive to get in these days.

[Hank_Scoggins]

One of the most important things about Carolina is tradition and one way to ensure that tradition is to give children of alums the edge if they are otherwise qualified. Absolutely agree with changing the policy to reflect this.

[shaggist]

Children of UNC alumni should ALWAYS have first consideration in the admittance program. Many familys have attended Chapel Hill for generations and for the next generation to be turned away in favor of a non-alumni child is unthinkable and wrong.

[Tasman5]

Absolutely no question you should consider it. It definitely builds ties and also has a financial benefit for the university. I for one have 2 children - both at the top of their classes - who were not admitted. Both have gone on to excel, one at a highly regarded private college and the other at another highly regarded public university. I no longer provide any financial support to the university and likely never will in the future - and you lost my children's support. My support has moved on. I am now the last generation in my family who attended and interest in our extended family has now moved on locally to Duke.

[doyneallison]

As a Carolina Couple whose daughter was disappointed by our alma mater, we took her rejection rather personally. Making the decision harder to accept was that she was fully qualified for admission, as she proved with a Phi Beta Kappa academic career at UNC-Greensboro.

But the admissions office did NOT make a mistake in ignoring the legacy factor. No qualified applicant should come up against that. We should expand the UNC opportunity to more families (conditional on appropriate qualifications), not restrict it to legacies.