If I have a pretty bad GPA but wanted to apply at a college where I have a legacy, would my chances drastically increase?
Legacies are a turning point not a hook. If your stats aren’t up to par, legacy won’t be a deal breaker.
Legacy status won’t make a significantly substandard profile magically make the cut, UNLESS the legacy is also a major development case (i.e. mega-million dollar donor).
FYI
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/18/jared-kushner-harvard-donald-trump-son-in-law
Deep pockets are the best fig leaf.
Would there be any difference in impact if I happened to have 3 legacies at one school?
They didn’t donate though to my knowledge
Have any of them been realiable donors?
Do you have any sense of pride to get in on your own merits?
I’m not sure if they’ve donated anything, but it’s a possibility. I know that my GPA is nowhere near what it needs to be for this school which is why I’m trying to see if it’d even be worth it to apply due to my family history there
It would be more helpful to know the school. At a number of the most competitive schools, legacy helps a little, but not a lot.
My son (35 ACT) was rejected at my Ivy alma mater. So it goes.
The school where I have 3 legacies is UMich. The other two I was considering with a legacy are Vanderbilt and Tulane
If your SAT/ACT scores are above the school’s top quartile, then it might be worth a shot.
its not though- my act is well above average in general but not good in comparison to the school- that’s why i was trying to get an idea of how much of an impact it would be
Ask you legacies if they have a development contact. If they don’t know what this is then it means their donations probably weren’t enough to get noticed.
If you aren’t a solid applicant on your own merits, it’s unlikely to change the outcome. Legacy is usually a tie-breaker between qualified applicants. At many schools, the most value from it is in an ED round. The exception, as noted, is for large donors. Even then, they want to be sure you’ll be able to do the work. They don’t want to tick off daddy deep pockets by flunKing out junior.