<p>A few weeks ago, I applied to a prestigious liberal arts school which is probably on my target list--it's neither a reach nor a safety. When I told my family that I'd be applying to this school, they all exclaimed that Great-grandma had graduated there 90 years ago and was (before her death) the school's oldest living alum. Since I don't have a legacy at any other school, I gleefully put her name down and wrote about her fairly extensively in one of my essays.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I found out today from an elderly family member that Great-grandma did not, in fact, attend this school. She attended a now-defunct school with the same name; everybody in my family simply assumed that it was the one I applied to.</p>
<p>Now I'm stuck in the classic conflict: When does full disclosure change to torpedoing oneself? The essay that I wrote was very convincing, but some of my recollections of Great-grandma were innocently exaggerated and these (minor) falsehoods may be exposed if I rescind my legacy status. Should I try to explain the discrepancies or just hope that the admissions committee's records don't date back to World War I?</p>
<p>How blatant were the “innocent exaggerations”? If they are untruths, then you might be in hot water. </p>
<p>You should probably assume admissions records do go back very far, and come clean that it was a family assumption/mistake, not an intentional misrepresentation. The sooner you explain the mix-up, the better you will look.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help, guys. I’ll be sure to bring this up with my counselor tomorrow.</p>
<p>In response to Fauve, my only exaggeration was true in spirit (my Great-grandmother loved her alma mater dearly) but was shady in fact; the gray-colored clothing I received for my birthday was given for aesthetic reasons, not out of celebration for this school. That aside, the essay’s flaws stem out of misunderstanding and not out of attempted deception.</p>
<p>they would think you and your associates are stupid for making a mistake on something like that. <em>facepalm</em> you’d be surprised at how little humor admissions ppl have.</p>
<p>Definitely use humor when explaining the “mistake”. Sit down tonight and write an email to the admission’s department explaining the initial misunderstanding. Be clear that your intention was not to deceive–but rather, an honest mistake. Write in your own voice and be sure to add some humor.</p>
<p>Was gray the color of the now defunct school? I’d be curious to check as an adcom when you tell your story. If it was not the school color, well, then I’d know the whole thing was a crock. And are you sure a great grandparent would make you a legacy? Tht would be fairly unusual.</p>
<p>Great-grandma’s school was a nursing school, so I’m willing to bet they didn’t even have a school color. As it stands now, the clothing is the only questionable part of my essay. While I did receive a notably large amount of gray-colored clothing for birthdays, that’s because I look good in gray–not in celebration of the school (as was implied).</p>
<p>And yeah, a great-grandparent counts at this school. In a joking manner, I recognized in the essay that calling Great-grandma a legacy is a bit of a reach, but defended my listing her as one by noting her great fondness for her alma mater. Unfortunately, I didn’t apply to her alma mater…</p>
<p>I’m all in favor that you tell this story, recognizing that it’s a funny story. It’s actually very typical of someone like a great grandmother. My dear 93 year old mother has become quite exaggerated with her stories about what a great cook she was, but we all know better. Actually, have fun with this story, enough to convince the adcom that you always imagined that their school was the only one.</p>
<p>Curious, hmom5, why would it be unusual that a great grandparent could be a legacy? My dad went to Princeton. Wouldn’t my kids technically be a legacy, or do you presume that only works with parents not grandparents or great grandparents?</p>
<p>Princeton, and other Ivies define legacies as those whose parents atttended the college as undegrads, not grad students. If the grandparent, or great-grandparent is a memorable donor, celeb, politician, etc., then the legacy magic is more potent.</p>