<p>I think in the case of Brown, the sex of the student may be significant, don't you Jamimom? The breakdown is about 45% males and 55% females at Brown at this point. </p>
<p>Where schools are smaller, I think it might help to have a sibling there or as a recent graduate as the school can be pretty sure the student knows what the school is about, having heard about it from older sibling. I had to think that these factors were a help to my S when he got into Swarthmore: he could write with greater understanding the "Why Swarthmore" essay as he knew it from big sister's experiences, and from several visits to her there.</p>
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epiphany, I attended a workshop earlier this week given by an ad com, and he said that legacy is not much of a factor any more for the very most selective colleges (like the Ivies) because those schools have so many legacies - plus are so much in demand.
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<p>I believe this only if you're talking just "legacy" without the factor of "development admit". Just having graduated may not help much at the ivies, but giving money does, providing the money is significant. Even at HYPSM - it matters. Development apps are tagged and held to a different standard.</p>
<p>calmom,
student accepted = poor. Need had to be stated on Early app -- & scope of need.
legacy/sibling student who was w/listed = well off (don't know if really rich, just comfortable at least).</p>
<p>Could be, Momofthree. I do believe that the most selective schools tend to have the most legacy applications which can be an issue in creating a diverse and vibrant community. So, although legacies are still accepted at a greater rate, and from the info I have seen, the average stats for them are still slightly below the midpoint of the non legacies, the gap is closing. There may well become a time when being a Harvard alum could be a disadvantage! Think about it. A greater percentage of Harvard legacies will apply to H, than legacies at less selective schools, as the even those non H kids want to apply to H as well. In order to keep the legacy numbers at a steady level, some controls may well need to be put in place. As to develpment applicants, they do not need to be legacies. </p>
<p>Some schools, however, who are striving to build alumni relations, and enrichen the community with legacies give alum kids a great advantage in admissions, and include siblings in the preference category. These schools, in my opinion, tend to be schools trying to achieve more of a "gentility", for lack of a better word. I think CMU is such a school, for example, and I am in total agreement that a sense of family and stronger legacy links can strenghthen the school community in that case. For a school like Princeton, they do not need more alums or siblings. They have generations of inbreeding.</p>