Hillsdale College legacies do not benefit from priority admissions, Senior Director of Admissions Zachary Miller said. 

“We do not weigh someone’s application differently because they’re a legacy,” Miller said. “It is truly on the merits of the student’s application without any consideration or ranking for that.”

Though siblings, children, and grandchildren of Hillsdale alumni enrich the student body, Miller said, the admissions department does not give them an advantage over other candidates who seek to get past the college’s 20% acceptance rate.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of racial preferences in college admissions. Soon after, a civil-rights group filed a lawsuit to challenge legacy admissions at Harvard University. Since then, debate has raged over the fairness of favoring applicants with family connections.

If a court prohibits legacy admissions in the future, as in the affirmative action ruling in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC, it would not affect Hillsdale, Miller said. 

“You have to take into consideration simply the student and their fit, their accomplishments, and what they bring to the table as a potential student for Hillsdale College,” Miller said. “Other schools might have different priorities, and that’s up to them. But we want to create the best class of students regardless of where they come from, regardless of their background.”

Miller says the rejection of legacies seems to have increased over the past five to 10 years. 

“That’s again what makes it really hard because we’re not growing the enrollment, and we have more and more applications,” Miller said. “We have to say no to a lot of those. So it seems like every year there’s a lot of those cases that are hard letters to send, hard phone calls to take.”

Though senior Caroline Holmes’ younger brother was rejected by admissions, she said she is glad the college does not consider legacy status in the application process. 

“I am a firm believer in the blind admissions process and think that every student should be admitted based on strict merit as opposed to family status, money, race and gender, etc.,” Holmes said. “I think that in order to be consistent with the values that are taught at Hillsdale, the admissions process should be as objective as possible.”

Freshman Max Cote is the fourth sibling in his family to attend Hillsdale. Mason Cote graduated in 2019, Hannah graduated in 2023, Jack is a junior, and their mom, Shanna Cote, has worked for the college for almost seven years.

“Definitely having three siblings going to Hillsdale helped me understand some of the application process and even why to apply early decision,” Cote said.

Sophomore Sophia Widmer agreed having two sisters connected to the college made her admissions process smoother. Her sister Emma is a senior and Sam graduated in 2021.

“Since Hillsdale recruits based on such different qualities, it was really helpful to have two older sisters who went through it and also were already acclimated to the campus culture,” Widmer said. “Understanding the Hillsdale culture was helpful in the application process and also in making my final decision.”

Max Cote said having a sibling at the college has made his transition easier.

“My transition into freshman year has been super easy, especially since my older brother Jack currently attends here,” he said. 

Miller said he enjoys having families like the Cotes and Widmers at the college. 

“It’s really cool to see some families who have had three, four, or five generations or three, or four, or five siblings come, and those are cool stories that we do get to tell,” Miller said. “So it does happen. And I think it’s very neat, and it can enrich us in a lot of different ways.”

Miller said legacies are often more likely to know more about Hillsdale than other applicants, making them naturally a stronger fit. 

“When we look at our pool, we’re interested in the merits and the abilities and the strength of the application,” Miller said. “We want to make sure that it’s the student and what they bring to the table and not anything on the outside of that.”

Advocates of legacy admissions have argued it helps foster personal relationships between alumni, students, and the college and loyalty to the school. 

“Institutional trust, in other words, requires intergenerational continuity, the kind that comes from family traditions,” James Hankin, a Harvard professor, wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “Change and innovation will always be necessary, but the most successful reforms are built on a basis of trust and loyalty.”

Widmer said Hillsdale appealed to her because of the stories her sisters told her about it. 

“I probably wouldn’t have considered Hillsdale if I didn’t know the dynamics on campus and the culture from an insider’s perspective,” she said. “Although similar in many ways, my sisters and I have very different interests, and I’ve found that I’ve been able to have a completely unique experience even at such a small school. “

Widmer said she recommends more people attend the same school as their siblings. 

“People think that going to college with family will mean they can’t be themselves or that it will be too much like home but that’s definitely not true,” she said. “You can make your own friends and be involved in completely different things, but having someone who knows you beyond a friend connection for four years is so helpful in college.”