Does legacy actually help THIS much?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>So I found a new addiction called my chances dot net. Basically you put in all your stats and ec's and everything and it chances you for whatever school you want.
I put in all of my stuff and checked my chances for Duke and it estimated 12%, but when I put in that one of my parents attended, it jumped to 53%.
Is this realistic at all?</p>

2

<p>I doubt it helps that much, but it still helps considerably. According to Duke, legacy will not make an application. But it does help you stand out against the thousand of applications.</p>

<p>According to a post on CC, the legacy acceptance rate for Harvard was more than twice that of a regular Harvard applicant.</p>

3

<p>If your chances were 12% before, I think it’d be reasonable to put them at least 20% now. But I think the 53% might even be a glitch, no way it would jump that much.</p>

4

<p>Just for the record, the acceptance rate for Harvard legacies is five times that of their non-legacy counterparts.</p>

5

<p>Legacy probably doubles your chances at Duke, but it’s much more significant if you apply ED. Here’s a thread from back in 2009 with some interesting stats I posted from 2005.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/798891-how-much-does-being-duke-legacy-applying-early-decision-help.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/duke-university/798891-how-much-does-being-duke-legacy-applying-early-decision-help.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Thanks guys. With this in mind, would you mind chancing me? I recently posted my stats in the Duke forum.</p>

7

<p>Duke puts a lot of legacies on the wait list and probably gives them a little preference coming off the wait list.</p>

8

<p>I have been closely affiliated with Duke for over four decades, as a student, a volunteer leader (including admissions), an alumni member of several senior Councils, Boards and Executive Committees, and a financial contributions solicitor/planner. You really need to be aware of two central “legacy” issues:</p>

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<p>In essence, the graduate who has been fundamentally detached from Duke will improve the legacy’s opportunity only marginally, whereas the child of an alumnus who has made a major, lifelong and deeply personal commitment to Duke will receive true admissions enhancement.</p>