Capital Conversion and Accumulation: A Social Portrait of Legacies at an Elite University |
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| Authors: | Nathan D Martin Kenneth I Spenner |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA |
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| Abstract: | Legacies, or students with a family member who graduated from the same college or university, have been the source of much
debate. We add to the existing literature by providing a detailed empirical portrait of legacies at a private, selective university
across the college years. We examine how legacies are distinctive in their admissions profiles, within-college achievement
and post-graduation plans, using data from a panel study of students attending Duke University. We find that legacies enter
college with an abundance of economic, cultural and social capital, but also have lower levels of human capital compared to
other students with college graduate parents. Due to this human capital deficit, legacies have lower grades in the first college
year, but show little academic underperformance in subsequent semesters. Additionally, legacies are less likely to plan to
be a medical doctor or engineer and have somewhat lower degree aspirations than other students.
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| Keywords: | Academic achievement College admissions Cultural capital Human capital Postsecondary education |
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