Seeking insight. I know that legacy does not confer any benefit during the RD round. But I’m wondering, to what extent, if any, is a legacy candidate DISADVANTAGED during RD? IIRC from when my older child applied, legacy status may work against a candidate in RD round (supposedly because if they were truly interested they would have applied ED). Any insight? Thanks.
I can’t imagine that legacy status would hurt you. As far as the “if they were truly interested they would have applied ED” line of thinking, admissions could say the same thing about any RD applicant.
I have read that legacy is a big deal during ED but don’t think it hurts in RD, it just won’t really help either.
The thinking supposedly is that the legacy student would know enough about Cornell to know whether it is a first choice or not, and that an RD application is a throw-away.
The CDS for Cornell indicates that it does not consider demonstrated interest, and as a general rule, schools don’t like to alienate alum if they can help it, so I seriously doubt that Cornell would hold legacy status against a RD applicant.
I’m alumni, and D applied last year RD because we have multiple kids going to college and needed to see all of the financial packages before anyone started committing to schools. D is Class of 2022; applying RD as a legacy certainly didn’t hurt her application.
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Thanks. Good to know.
brantly - One thing to think about - if a legacy does not get in ED, it means their qualifications were deemed insufficient for immediate admission notwithstanding the fact that they got a boost for applying ED and for being a legacy. When the same individual goes to the RD round, he/she has the same qualifications, but no longer gets that ED and legacy boost. Thus, it may well be that the deferred legacy applicant’s chances of getting in RD are worse than an ordinary RD applicant even though (as I said before), I don’t think that legacy status is held against them.
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@TheBigChef Thanks. I am more interested in the RD applicant who did not apply ED. Deferred from one of the SCEA schools 
I think your kid would be treated the same as other students.
If your kid has high stats (sounds like it if she applied to an SCEA school) then I would have her demonstrate some interest. It is not too late to schedule a visit if you haven’t visited the school already. Call the alumni office to see if they host special visits for legacies. I would make sure her “Why Cornell” is very good.
D1 was deferred from her ED school (not Cornell) and was WL at Cornell, while few students from her HS with lower stats were admitted. Her GC told us, based on her conversation with Cornell’s AO, the reason D1 was WL was they didn’t think she would matriculated. She was ultimately admitted after she showed great interest and they opened their WL.
Good luck.
I’m an alum at Cornell and my son was just deferred. He has a 4.4 GPA (11 AP classes) and 1540 SAT scores, with 700’s in three subject tests. He has tons of activities (sports, piano, Model UN, volunteering at hospital) but not really demonstrated leadership skills. What do you think his chances of acceptance are in the RD round?
Advice: Would be a plus if the student applied to and was accepted at other schools as competitive. When the legacy school is the only school of that calibre the student is admitted to, it’s clear why; something that might not instill the highest degree of confidence at the start.
Getting into a school is not a competition. Why would you care how someone got into a school? Both of my nephews got into Cornell and they were legacies. They had 4 very good years and are gainfully employed now. I don’t think they are particularly concerned on how they got into Cornell - maybe because of their stats and maybe because they were legacies, but they would never know. At the same time, not many schools would admit someone just because he/she is a legacy, unless the family is a major contributor.
@NewWaveMom - I would have your son and the GC send in additional information - another essay, LORs, awards, etc.