Does Legacy Really Matter

<p>My son will be a RD legacy applicant. I have heard fron some that this status will help his chances of being admitted. I have heard from others that legacy status is not as helpful as it use to be. I would appreciate any experience that you may have. He has a 4.15 GPA and 1360 SAT. My son is a 2 sport all state academic athlete. He is a white male and attends a top Catholic college prep school in midwest.</p>

<p>I’d say the SAT is a little weak… strong extracurriculars should help though. How does his school do weighted GPA’s?
Legacy could put him over the top if he’s competitive, but it’s not gonna get him in by itself. to quote the admissions staff at ND- Legacy can heal the sick, but it can’t raise the dead</p>

<p>UW gpa is 3.75…2 sport academic all state athlete. 5 Varsity letters. your thoughts?</p>

<p>The school sends a letter when they see that an applicant is a legacy that states that that application gets 3 reads, including the director of admissions. They also state that the incoming class will be made up of 25% legacies, and that about 50% of legacies will be accepted. So your son has a shot, but his SAT is a little low. Hopefully he makes up for that with strong essays and good recommendations. Good luck to him!</p>

<p>In my opinion, and this is solely based on the stats from my school last year, two out of three guys that got in were legacies and had 4.2 and 4.3 weighted cumulative gpas respectively (gpa out of 5.0, but technically it isnt b/c you can’t take an honors theology course), and above 30 act scores. The third kid who got in had above 30 act but as well had 4.5 cumulative gpa and had no hooks, except that he was Asian, but these days that doesn’t help out to much. So legacy helps out somewhat but i’m sure that everything still needs to be tip top shape as well, even if you’re a legacy.</p>

<p>The legacy acceptance rate is significantly higher, and Notre Dame has one of the largest percentages of legacy students. That doesn’t necessarily mean your son will get in, but his chances are improved.</p>