Amherst College dropping admissions preference for children of alumni

Amherst College on Wednesday announced that it will stop incorporating preference for children of alumni in its college admissions process.

“Now is the time to end this historic program that inadvertently limits educational opportunity by granting a preference to those whose parents are graduates of the College,” Amherst College President Biddy Martin said in a statement. “We want to create as much opportunity for as many academically talented young people as possible, regardless of financial background or legacy status. There should be no doubt that a world-class education is within reach for students from all income groups.”

Amherst College said in its announcement that admissions preference for the children of alumni who are qualified academically to enroll in the college makes up roughly 11 percent of each class. 

Providing preference to so-called “legacy admissions” has been a policy that has plagued schools like Amherst College as well as other schools, including Ivy League institutions. Many schools have faced pressure to eliminate similar policies, including one campaign recently that pushed schools like Amherst College, Yale, Harvard and Brown to end the legacy preference or prohibit receiving alumni donations, the Associated Press reported.

Amherst College, which says it is the only need-blind liberal arts college for both domestic and international students, also announced that financial aid would increase by $71 million each year and noted that the average aid package would stand at around $63,570 effective for the 2022-2023 academic school year. 

According to the college, tuition, room and board totaled $76,800 for the 2021-2022 school year. Incorporating other fees and insurances not waived by a student, the total cost of attendance for the school can be as much as $85,296. 

“Our admission team is confident that by both ending legacy preference and clearly showing that most students can experience an Amherst education with significant scholarship support, we will see a further increase in both the diversity and excellence of our extraordinary applicant pool and, ultimately, in the enrolled student community on campus,” Matthew McGann, dean of admission and financial aid at Amherst College, said in a statement.