Alumni/Legacy relation, how much does it help?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>How much does legacy/alumni relation (my dad) help with the admissions process at Wash U? I know nobody knows for sure, and a college will not openly admit that Alum. relation is a decent factor in decision.. but I wonder nontheless.</p>

<p>My stats are average.</p>

<p>... if you really need them I can post them, but I will summarize them rq</p>

<p>I have amazing EC's... way above the avg ..I've been published twice, have over 2000 community service hours as a soph., helped design and publish the book, it documented local veterans for the library of congresses' Veterans History Project and Heritage Projects...I have worked with US senators and Congressmen, obtained endorsements for projects from the same senators/congressmen and various local places & news agencies, including Tom Brokaw. I'm somewhat politically active in a club, and I'm part of a group of students who counsel young students at our HS about their problems, etc... this is just the tip of the iceberg... Was responsible for selling all 1000 copies of the first book, I also was responsible for contacting local publishers and selling the printing rights to the first book to consolidate our groups nearly $13,000 debt.</p>

<p>I want to go into Business, and I dream of being and entrepreneur like my dad....Will apply ED I to Olin, I've been decided on this for a good while :) </p>

<p>3.6 uw GPA.. Bad freshman year, I take the most difficult classes possible, and make sure to take the hardest teacher so that I can learn the most. No, I am not joking or exxagerating. (about 4.1 weighted) I'll probably end up with something like a 3.65-3.7 uw by graduation and a 4.3-4.4 weighted)</p>

<p>Haven't taken SAT's yet.. But I've scored highly on them.. I'm guessing I'll score between 1380-1480...so about a 2020-2120</p>

<p>I love the school.. I'm visiting it this september as a Junior in HS. I'll be visiting again the summer before my Senior year as well, after I've served a summer internship I "won," I guess, with a small little corporation in Chicago. </p>

<p>I've done a lot with my free time.. I know this doesn't change anything in the decisions process, but I've been all over the world, spent months in China/Tibet, as well as vast amounts of time in Russia and other poor E. European Countries. </p>

<p>^^ I plan to use the lessons I have learned from the above travels to shape my essays.</p>

<p>Oh.. sorry I know that was supposed to be short.. but I just got to thinking :P</p>

<p>I'm sorry if I come off as a pompous kid who likes to show his stats or whatever... I'm just deeply concerned about my chances. I'm still pretty much a young inexperienced kid who just wants some advice from those willing to offer it; harsh or kind words are quite welcome.</p>

<p>PS, Stats worry me, I have a hard time with these boards because I look at what is being waitlisted and denied, and it has me on the edge of my seat with worry.</p>

2

<p>I dont know precisely how much it helps at WUSTL, although it def helps, here's the kind of effect it has at the ivies.</p>

<p>"The Wall Street Journal recently put a statistical face on alumni clout in admissions. Children of graduates make up 10 to 15 percent of incoming classes at most Ivy League schools, according to the Journal. Harvard accepts 40 percent and Princeton accepts 35 percent of legacies but only 11 percent of all applicants. The University of Pennsylvania rakes 41 percent of legacy applicants yet only 2 1 percent overall. At Notre Dame, nearly a quarter of students are children of graduates."</p>

<p><a href="http://ivysuccess.com/legacy_admissions.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ivysuccess.com/legacy_admissions.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>Dont know about Wash U, but legacy is a BIG factor at other top schools. The schools may try to downplay it, but if you're legacy at some big name school like Harvard and you apply early, you're almost a shoo-in.</p>

4

<p>I am also a legacy and will be attending Wash U next year, most likely. I don't actually know the amount it factors in but they write you a different acceptance letter and then start calling you and your Alum parent rather frequently.</p>

5

<p>legacy helps a bit for washu, my friend who is ranked right about in the top 15% of my class with a 1490ish got in early. I would not say his grades are top of the class.</p>

6

<p>i'm top 5%... 1310, lots of EC's, varsity sports, lots of volunteer and legacy to washU... I was waitlisted. Not sure if it helped, but they sent me a book with their classes, a lot of letters telling me how close my family is to the university, etc. It was nice.</p>

7

<p>I'm sorry yeayea :(</p>

<p>Sucks to see that it doesn't help that much</p>

8

<p>i'm legacy, got in, got that "personalized" (it's really just different by a line) admissions letter, but got no other personal letters/calls.</p>

9

<p>maybe it'll help me get off the wait list? just sucks it won't be until late june to find out about that!!</p>

10

<p>The calls might have been them hounding us to give more money. I don't know the purpose they just ask for my dad most of the time.</p>

<p>And it is amusing how it seems personalized to your situation, but in all actuality it is the same letter for all other accepted legacies.</p>