<p>Hello past, present, and future Yalies!
Just a quick question here; I'm hoping some of you might be able to help me find an answer. </p>
<p>Anyway, my dad went to Yale for his masters degree and was a fellow at Jonathan Edwards College during his time as a graduate student. Will this place me in the legacy pool for undergraduate admissions? If so, how much of an advantage would that give me? For what it's worth, we don't exactly have a family library on campus, although my dad is very accomplished and well-known within his field.</p>
<p>Darn. Well, thanks for the answer! I noticed that the Common App supplement includes a space for all parents/sibling who have graduated from ANY school at Yale. I know that wouldn't place me in any special applicant pools, but I suppose it could (maybe?) help if I was waitlisted or something of that sort...</p>
<p>it would make sense to say so, although there are rules on what applies as being a legacy.</p>
<p>Since its a direct ancestor on your family tree, you might want to check with him and the admissions dept to find out where you fall in that category.</p>
<p>Legacy status certainly does help; I think last year the statistic was something like about 25% of legacy students who applied were accepted. But you can't really take that at face value, since you have to figure legacy parents would probably be pushing their kids harder than most, so a greater percentage of them tend to be on that higher level.</p>
<p>And I'm pretty sure that would put you in the legacy pool. They certainly have a space for reporting grad school affiliation, so fill it out!</p>
<p>I think it will definitely help. My brother just got into Yale with the legacy pool and only our UNCLE went (for grad)...but he has contributed money to the school, so they probably like that.</p>
<p>I had sort of the same question. My dad went to Yale Law, and although everyone on here says that it's only undergrad, why would it ask on the app if it didnt matter?</p>
<p>From what I've heard about Yale, being a legacy of any kind helps a lot! I mean, if you get rejected then your dad may stop sending money! They don't want that.</p>
<p>Hi everyone,
Thanks a lot for the replies. Since posting the thread, I've consulted some people who are definitely "in the know," and all of them are saying I would be placed into the legacy admissions pool. </p>
<p>Anyhow, I still have a couple of questions. First, how much would applying EA as a legacy help? At this point, I find Columbia and Yale to be equally attractive, but if the legacy would mean I'd actually have a better chance at Yale SCEA than Columbia ED, I would certainly apply early to Yale. Finally, I saw a comment about Yale not wanting alumni to stop donating. I know I won't be in the same situation as kids whose last names adorn campus buildings, but will I be at a disadvantage to other legacy applicants because my dad's annual donation is probably somewhat smaller than many other alumni donors? He's not at all stingy in his contributions, but it's not as though we can afford to drop thousands for Yale.</p>
<p>hmm i was in the same position. i have 4 generations of legacy at yale, but my dad went to columbia for undergrad and also business school...i couldnt decide where to apply early, but i finally went with yale. i had already submitted part one of my columbia app though stating i was going to apply ED, so i had to call Columbia and change it to regular so i could do yale SCEA..i got deferred from yale and i have the stats to get in so im not sure what happened..also theres an endowment in my grandfathers name at yale..so the point is, dont count on legacy at all to help get you into yale..it doesnt always work</p>
<p>I'm a legacy from my mom, and she got a letter from the admissions office after I applied about the admissions process for "legacy students". (Like do they tell the legacy parent about acceptance, etc.) I guess that's how you'd know if you're in the legacy pool.</p>
<p>In the letter, Yale goes out of its way to caution irrational optimism based on legacy status. Although the admission rate is high - something like 30% - they emphasize that Yale progeny tend to be very highly qualified anyway, just because of how they've been raised and opportunities they've had. </p>
<p>There's been some discussion on CC about the high number of legacy applicants being deferred this year; it definitely doesn't give you a gigantic boost, if the anecdotal information here means anything.</p>
<p>Regarding the Columbia ED vs. Yale SCEA question, you really need to know if you would be happy going to Columbia, since it's binding. They take a high percentage of early apps, so I'm guessing your chances would actually be higher there. But if you're not in love with Columbia, that's not really going to help.</p>
<p>Rainmama, thanks much for the advice! In all honesty, I think I might be a bit happier at Columbia. It's really a dream school of sorts. I love the idea of the core, they have strong professors in my field of interest, and the prospect of going to school NYC is absolutely mesmerizing. In all honesty, I could write a better 'Why Columbia' than 'Why Yale.' Regardless, would legacy also help me much in regular decision? I'm also legacy at Amherst, and I know for a fact that the difference between legacy and non-legacy acceptance rates is much more significant in the ED round.</p>
<p>Does legacy help in RD? A great question that I wish I could answer, wmmk. My son decided not to apply early, although he's a third-generation legacy. Too many kids/friends from his school applying, and he just didn't want to "go there" - figuratively speaking. Decided to apply RD just because you never know what might happen, and his app was stronger by December 31 than it would have been in October. We are hoping the small boost of legacy doesn't disappear during RD, but there's no way to be sure. I guess the only guarantee is that his app gets a third read that other apps might not get. There's a fairly chaotic admissions climate with Yale SCEA because of Harvard and Princeton dumping EA, but maybe that will settle down next year.</p>
<p>"I know I won't be in the same situation as kids whose last names adorn campus buildings, but will I be at a disadvantage to other legacy applicants because my dad's annual donation is probably somewhat smaller than many other alumni donors? He's not at all stingy in his contributions, but it's not as though we can afford to drop thousands for Yale."</p>
<p>My understanding is that the money part doesn't matter until you're talking about MILLIONS, not thousands. In other words, "legacy" is distrinct from "development."</p>
<p>Theoretically they consider you a legacy if you have a grandparent who went there, but they don't send the grandparents one of those "legacy" letters....which leads me to suspect that a grandparent doesn't count for much, unless it's a big name.</p>
<p>I wonder if it might actually hurt to be in a legacy pool, unless you went to a prep school and have all the big $$ packaging, activities, and advantages to display. A public high school kid from a small town isn't going to look like much next to someone from Andover whose Model UN trip was to Paris as opposed to the nearby state U, and so forth. Especially if they are an unhooked middle class white kid.</p>