Grandfather attending Yale seminar School
Uncle attended Tufts for his Phd for Dental
I probably should have said Legacy Status not Legacy Students
Most schools do not consider secondary legacy or former grad students.
And guess you meant seminary school. Unless a school asks specifically about relatives and/or grad school. agree, most dont consider them.
If I recall, they ask for specific relatives and/or programs so you’ll know whether the school considers it by whether or not it’s a valid answer to their question.
Exactly, depends on the school. Grandfather is most likely to be considered a legacy, at least he would at the Ivy I went to. Not sure about Yale’s policy.
Go to the Common App, and start applying to Yale, and you will see.
Actually, the bottom line is how adcoms will view it, not whether it shows up somewhere on the app. Lots of things you’ll present will add up to a picture. In some cases, more distant legacy is a nice extra dab of icing. In others, not. And the starting point is generally not about grad school.
You have to see how the college defines it.
You have to check to see how each school defines legacy. If it is unclear you can ask someone in admissions at each school. I think grandfather may help for Yale but I’m not positive. No idea about policy at Tufts but in general an uncle does not make you a legacy.
And it may be quite different for the Seminary school or a PhD.
I hate how schools put so much emphasis on legacy status.
Do they?
Who is in a stronger position, everything else the same?:
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Grandfather, his 2 brothers, great grandfather, his two brothers all attended Princeton.
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Father attended Dartmouth.
Still depends on the student and the app. You’re asking a very hypothetical question
It is, but it’s not. DS trying to decide which ED/EA to pursue and those are the moving variables. 4.09 wtd. 33 Comp ACT. 6 APs, 2 post AP (linear alg and organic chem), excellent ECs-student leader and athlete.
And I’m just saying it’s not as simple as stats/hs ECs/legacy. Which college is a better fit for him and him for it? (There are mighty differences between the two schools.) Can he manage an app that is compelling, in the ways those adcoms need to see it? Excellent leadership for elites can go beyond the high school walls; what’s he got? And are his individual ACT scores (and AP) strong, related to his major, not just the composite? If he truly is a perfect candidate (and that’s hard for many students to gauge, is rare and misunderstood) either level of legacy could be attractive.
Certainly not a perfect candidate especially since very few really warrant that distinction. He falls firmly in the middle of their average stats. One school offers more options and his interests are broad enough that that would serve him best. On the other hand, he loved the outdoorsy climate of the other. Different schools but could see him happy at either. I feel one is a better fit but he feels equally about the two for different reasons. I don’t want to misguide him by suggesting 6 plus connections one tier out carry equally to one direct legacy. Its hard to really pin; just looking to see if others would feel comfortable that both could be weighted similarly.It is hard to imagine 6 relatives could not count for something but these schools are so crazy hard to get in to anymore that who knows?
Legacy pull really depends on his app and how he comes across in addn to stats, etc. IF he does a great job on the app, IF he has the depth and breath they seek, the sort of judgment, good LoRs, any interviews, understands and ends up showing what they like to see, then either legacy can help. They won’t say, let’s discount 6 relatives. It’s part of his story. No, that doesn’t make this decision any easier. The app is key.
Thanks. Such a complex process anymore. We’ll see how it goes. And good luck to the OP trying to sort out Tufts and Yale.
@dowzerw Actually my top choice is Brown, but I was just wondering if those examples make me count as a "legacy’ as My dad did not go to a four year college, and my mom went to a really conservative college in mass. Also my GPA (3.7)/ and Test scores (act 30) are a little low for a top rank college
You actually seem like a strong candidate though if that hypothetical stats were yours.