<p>my dad's 2 cousins went to cornell about 15-20 years ago ... would this help my chances of getting in at all??</p>
<p>no, unless they are fabulously rich owners of businesses, on the cornell board of trustees, or have built buildings on campus. (of course they'd have to recommend you, too) If they are anything close to normal people, then they will not be able to help you at all.</p>
<p>Don't let this discourage you though. Legacy doesn't help that much, and really only in the early decision round, so if you're looking at cornell and hoping legacy will help you, you probably have a chance of getting into cornell anyway (or you set your sights to high even for a legacy). good luck! And if you post your stats, we'll gladly look at them and tell you what we think.</p>
<p>hey, what if my stepmother's mother went to Cornell? Also, my stepmother's stepsister is married to a prof at Northwestern. Would either of these help? I am applying ED and have strong stats. This is a serious post, sorry if it sounds like a joke.</p>
<p>Everyone is related to everyone else (some more distantly than others). So we should probably have legacies everywhere.</p>
<p>lol, I know, thats what my situation sounds like.</p>
<p>she's not legally your grandmother i don't think...but you could put her i suppose. but i doubt it would help. might even make them angry. dont worry, legacy gives you a boost, but not THAT much of a boost.</p>
<p>Distant relatives won't qualify you as a legacy applicant. That said, if it is the case that over the years, contacts with relatives have made you familiar with Cornell and added to your enthusiam about the prospect of attending Cornell, you might want to work that into an application essay about "why you want to attend Cornell."</p>
<p>pure genius odyssey! ;)</p>