am i a legacy?

<p>my grandfather went to Harvard Law School...originally, I did not think this qualified as a legacy because he is not a parent and he went to a Harvard grad school. however, some people are telling me that i am a legacy. any thoughts?</p>

<p>Aren't parents and siblings the only ones that count?</p>

<p>No. Legacy status only counts for applicants whose parents attended Harvard College.</p>

<p>or radcliffe!</p>

<p>Not sure where you guys are coming from on this one. Since legacy status doesn't give you a set leg up, there's no official policy on what does or does not make you a legacy. Proximity is better (sibling>parent>uncle/aunt>grandparent etc) but in reality it doesn't actually make that much of a difference anyway, you still have to be just as competitive as every other applicant. My freshman proctor (an admissions officer) always said that "being a legacy can heal the living, but it can't raise the dead"</p>

<p>Legacy is having a parent who went to the college at hand, so if your father went to Harvard you are a legacy, if your father AND grandfather went to Harvard you are a double legacy, but if your grandfather only went to Harvard you are nothing. I read all about it in


A is for admission

</p>

<p>"he went to a Harvard grad school"</p>

<p>Different schools have different policies, but at Harvard, relatives who attended Harvard's grad schools don't count.</p>

<p>thanks for the responses, guys</p>

<p>h-bomber said that "Since legacy status doesn't give you a set leg up, there's no official policy on what does or does not make you a legacy."</p>

<p>While there may be no "official policy", I think that I have seen past numbers that indicated that 40% of legacies are admitted. A not insignificant number of these are also children of faculty at Harvard or other top universities.</p>

<p>I'm not sure but I think there are different policies for faculty children, along with fee reductions..</p>

<p>"Double legacy" usually refers to both parents being alums. </p>

<p>There are definitely edges for faculty children applying anywhere. My point was that many legacies are the children of professors.</p>

<p>I dont think so...i am pretty sure double legacy refers to parent and grandparent</p>

<p>Well, not in US college lingo....</p>

<p>"Double legacy" in undergrad admissions means both parents went to Harvard as undergrads.</p>

<p>Thanks for the clarification..so is there a specific term used when parent as well as grandparent have gone to Harvard?</p>

<p>None that I have heard, and I come from a family littered with Harvard connections.</p>

<p>Multi-generational legacy maybe? I can't remember exactly how the question is worded - I think it's something like "Did anyone in your family attend Harvard?" isn't it? I'd just go ahead and list everyone - though I believe the parents are the most likely to give the tip.</p>

<p>I see, not that it really matters..
In my opinion, though I understand why colleges have legacies, i think they (legacies) undermine the students and the applicants to an extent</p>

<p>There is no term for whether a parent and grandparent went to Havard.</p>

<p>On the forms that Harvard sends alumni interviewers, "legacy" is used to indicate a parent went to Harvard. Under the legacy information for students, Harvard lists any parents that attended Harvard. Clearly, legacy counts for undergrad admission only if parents went to Harvard College (not law school, etc.) . Harvard doesnt' note on the form whether grandparents went to Harvard. </p>

<p>I remember seeing someone post on CC who had come from a family that had attended Harvard for at least 3 generations. The student ended up being rejected.</p>

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I remember seeing someone post on CC who had come from a family that had attended Harvard for at least 3 generations. The student ended up being rejected.

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<p>That goes to show (to my great pleasure) that legacy is only the final push, and if one lacks the fundamental ecs, SAT scores, GPA and so on, there is nothing to be done legacy-wise.</p>