<p>It just seems like top privates like Northwestern, Stanford, and Duke don't consider legacy anywhere near to the level that the Ivies do. So I must ask. Should I use my ED on Northwestern or a place like UPenn/Cornell?</p>
<p>That would depend where you want to attend more.</p>
<p>And NU DEFINITELY cares about legacy at least as much as the Ivies, if not more so.</p>
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<p>My son, a double legacy, is now a freshman at NU (admitted ED). My best friend’s daughter, also a double legacy, is a junior (RD wait listed but pulled off wait list). Search my posts in the NU forum – I posted something a few months ago about how NU’s legacy admissions rate is roughly double the regular admissions rate. This is generally comparable to other elite schools from what has been posted on CC. If NU is your first choice, I would say play your legacy card in ED.</p>
<p>Does having an older sister as an NU graduate help at all? Or do only parents count?</p>
<p>If having a sibling isn’t a legacy – that varies from school to school, Sorry, I don’t know NU’s policy – it should count towards demonstrated interest, as it probably makes it more likely that you will attend in their eyes.</p>
<p>I believe that siblings are considered legacies, but can’t say i’ve ever heard that directly from the NU adcom</p>
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<p>I think anyone with a legacy card should play that card in ED if possible. I think the power wanes considerably in RD (not just for NU, but anywhere). Having said that, we counseled son that NU was a reach for everybody, legacy was at most a feather on the scale, and to treat it as “long shot, but you don’t know if you don’t apply.” that made acceptance all that much sweeter, as expectations were set properly and there was no sense of legacy entitlement. BTW, we are “unimportant” alum from a donation perspective – never gave any significant amount over the years.</p>
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<p>Legacy is important not because of donations so much as because it vastly increases the likelihood of attendance.- At least according to Morty’s lecture on college admissions.</p>
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<p>Right, but that’s already taken care of with an ED application since you’re pledging to attend. It would be interesting to know what % of legacies who apply apply ED vs RD, and the other way around - what % of the ED-applicant pool are legacies vs what % of the RD applicant pool.</p>
<p>BTW, sample of one - I found Morty Schapiro to be extremely personable on campus. I walked up to him during a new student event and mentioned that I was an alum and parent of a freshman; he began chatting as though we had been BFF’s for years, introduced me to his wife, the whole thing. He played it quite well, I thought, given that I’m just an everyday alum and not a trustee, nor is there a “Pizzagirl Hall” on campus anywhere.</p>
<p>I think Morty is a tremendous asset to Northwestern (as he was for Williams). He does a great job delivering the school’s message, handling the big shots and is a personable presence on campus as well - not many presidents are really good at all of this.</p>
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<p>I adore Morty, though I sometimes feel he comes across as fake/ I don’t always fully trust him at his word. But he’s a fantastic guy. I had the pleasure of having dinner at his house along with a small handful of students, a couple trustees, and some faculty. Really cool guy. He bogarted some of the music library’s beatles special collection for his personal use- including original scribbles of eleanor rigby’s lyrics on a napkin, which he proudly shows off.</p>
<p>This is what I found impressive: He asked me when I had graduated. I said 1986. He immediately said, “Oh, President Strotz” and made a few comments about that administration (which were spot-on). I thought that was quite sharp of him to know his history like that. It said to me that he had studied NU’s history and had a broader trajectory than simply “where are we now in 2011.”</p>
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<p>He definitely does- he’s a bit obsessive about it, in fact. I challenge you to find him not wearing purple.</p>
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<p>So, my son needs to just write to Monty that his Big Sister - McCormick '09, had lunch with Henry B and he’s in? Cool! It’s like 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.!</p>
If I went to grad school at Northwestern, would it help my child in undergraduate admissions?
I believe NU policy only counts undergrad as legacy.
@Pizzagirl If you don’t mind me asking, what were your son’s scores/GPA?
Northwestern definitely does not care about legacy. My parents went to NU, my great uncle, my aunt, I visited, my GPA and SAT were in the range and I was still deferred and denied. My friend who has legacy at Princeton and a lower GPA and SAT than me was accepted to Princeton. Same with a friend with huge legacy at UPenn and lower SAT and gpa than me…yup accepted to UPenn. NU has a huge hangup about itself. Every person I know that got into NU had a parent who went to an ivy league school…somehow NU values that more than legacy at NU…sad that NU has a chip on its shoulder about ivies. NU can hire people like Morty but at the end of the day, NU will never be an ivy because it shows no respect for alumnae who have donated for decades.
NU also gives preference to applicants who are full pay…