<p>I'm a junior and haven't made any firm decisions about where to apply. That said, the idea of going to Yale appeals to me a lot, in large part because my dad went there. From what I understand, the legacy is a real advantage for me in admissions and something to be pleased about . . . but the idea makes me really squeamish. I want to deserve to be there on my own merits, y'know?</p>
<p>I think I have a decent shot at getting in to a good school anyway: I'm first in my class, my PSAT score is high (no SAT yet), and I'm involved in music and theater. I live in South Carolina, which I think is also a bonus.</p>
<p>Do I have a dramatically better chance at Yale compared to, say, Harvard? What's the effect of a legacy?</p>
<p>Children of Yale alums have roughly a ~14% admit rate (roughly double the normal rate) It’s statistically significant but no one walks in the door b/c they’re a legacy. ~86% of legacy applicants still get rejected.</p>
<p>If you get admitted, you’ll fully deserve it. It’s no coincidence that kids of Yale grads grow up in academically higher performing households – and therefore the better quality sub-group of applicants.</p>
<p>You don’t have to choose anything here, at least not yet. You can apply to BOTH Harvard and Yale if you like both of them, and you can see for yourself whether you get into one, the other, both, or none. If you get into both, you can decide which one you like best, and you don’t have to worry about getting in on your dad’s coattails. If you only get into Yale . . . well, you can decide then what you think about that. But before you get all wound up about things, remember that the overwhelmingly most likely outcome is that you are accepted neither place, despite your great qualifications, so make certain to apply to other places you like that don’t have to reject so many great applicants.</p>
<p>By the way, I know that, in studying its own legacy practices, Harvard has learned that it accepts Yale and Princeton legacies at almost the same rate it accepts Harvard legacies (not intentionally). I know two people who were multiple-generation Princeton legacies who were rejected at Princeton and accepted at Harvard. It’s silly to tie yourself in knots worrying about whether your legacy status is illegitimate.</p>
<p>I’m not making decisions, of course, and I’m not trying to delude or get ahead of myself–merely wondering, and musing. I really appreciate the impartial input.</p>
<p>“Children of Yale alums have roughly a ~14% admit rate (roughly double the normal rate) It’s statistically significant but no one walks in the door b/c they’re a legacy. ~86% of legacy applicants still get rejected.”</p>
<p>Noooooooooo. I applied SCEA and got defered. Still hoping though. But those numbers are wrong. Its like 30% to 40% of legacy kids get admitted and their about 14% of the whole class. I’m kind of bitter about that. The numbers are in this article from 2005 and my friend’s dad who went to Yale and interviews kids says the rate for legacies is even higher now.</p>
<p>the article clearly states that the PEAK of legacies at Yale was the 60’s when they made up 27.4%, and that the number has dropped since, which means it is closer to 20% now? So yes, legacy gets advantage, but hardly shoo-in either, the majority still get rejected…</p>
<p>^Looking at the above mentioned article from 2005 it states that Legacy admits have both stronger stats as a group than non-legacy admits and perform at a higher level at Yale even when GPA and test score matched to non-legacy admits. I’m sure that accounts for much of the higher acceptance rate as would be suggested by the other poster that said H accepted YP legacy applicants at a higher rate as well. I don’t think you need to worry about not being truly qualified for admission with a legacy hook if you can get in.</p>
<p>I highly doubt the legacy admit rate has gone up significantly from the quoted rate in 2005 since the overall admit rate has gone down.</p>
<p>The points JHS and T26e4 make are very very valid:</p>
<p>Legacies have grown up in an environment where education is a priority, and so they will tend to be better applicants. I find especially interesting this stat:</p>
<p>“Harvard has learned that it accepts Yale and Princeton legacies at almost the same rate it accepts Harvard legacies (not intentionally).”</p>
<p>So while legacy can get you over the lip, you need to climb most of the way yourself. You would need to put yourself in the same general place as the rest of the accepted students, and then the legacy can get you the nob over Joe No-connections. But only if you are in the same general area…</p>
<p>Legacies are a huge hook at Yale (similar to Princeton). This is not true at all schools, however; legacy is a negligible plus at Stanford, no hook whatsoever at CalTech. If you are a legacy whose parent donates seven-eight figures, you’re in like Flynn irrespective of your record.</p>
<p>climbingrose: If I may correct some of your and my numbers. The admit rate for legacy is roughly under 30%.</p>
<p>The only stats I have are for Yale 2013. In that applicant pool, 842 legacy kids applied. A data point that’s missing is how many were offered admission. However of that 842, 167 eventually matriculated. This 167 represents 20% of the applicant sub group (I see that I underestimated my “14%” stated above, too).</p>
<p>What was the overall admit rate? If we were to conservatively apply the overall yield rate (68%) to Legacy kids, then we can estimate the actual admits to be 245 kids – meaning a 29% admit rate. If we assume a higher yield rate, say 80%, then that means the overall admit rate is shrinks to 25%.</p>
<p>Still significant where the overall admit rate was 7.5%. But still upwards of a two-thirds to three-quarters still get rejected.</p>
<p>It makes bloody little difference…my DS would have been a 3 generation Yalie-- rejected…don’t feel bad for him. Harvard took him. My best friend’s D who has nearly the perfect package and would be a 6th–yep, 6th generation Jewish Yalie–deferred. </p>
<p>Yes, the admit rate is higher than the candidate pool as a whole but I think that has to do with the fact that the Old Blue kids came from middle to upper class families where learning was promoted (not going NEAR the gene pool issue…no way…)</p>
<p>The dirty little secret of the Admissions process–be a recruited athlete–seriously it is a parallel process than regular admissions. Go look at the Athletic Recruit section of CC and read the threads on Ivy Recruits…a whole different world…</p>
<p>Yes, admissions for recruited athletes is markedly different than for the general pool. For the applicant that is both academically strong and athletically talented (by which I mean val, 2300+ SAT, lots of APs, top national sports recruit; yes, Virginia, such applicants truly exist), admission to HYPS is not only easy, it is also, as etondad observes, an entirely different, “parallel” process.</p>
<p>While well qualified legacies might have a 20-40% chance, a well qualified athlete with coach’s support has a 95+% chance .</p>
<p>Hopefully, this can settle the back and forth over the exact stats surrounding legacy applicants. My mom went to Yale and I sent in my app three weeks ago; this past week, Yale sent her a letter with the typical mazel tov: “thanks for birthing a possible future yalie and we’re excited for the application” yada yada. Attached was an FAQ about how legacy status affects admissions chances. The letters says that legacy applicants have a roughly 20-25% admit rate, compared to a 7-10% admit rate for non-legacy applicants. Definitely not something to discount.</p>
<p>^^ The higher admission rate of higher achieving students is a given. The legacy applicant pool is significantly stronger than the general applicant pool. No one is “discounting” that legacy has some benefit but those statistics at first glance imply a 2-3 fold admissions advantage specifically because of “legacy” and that definitely is not the case.</p>