Grandchild & niece of Harvard grads help more w/ Harvard admission, or grandchild & niece of Stanford Grad School of Business help more w/ Stanford admission?

Applying to College
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1

My grandfather and uncle both attended Harvard for undergrad, and my same two relatives went on to matriculate at Stanford Graduate School of Business. If it helps, my grandfather has likely kept up with donating to both (I wouldn’t know how much), and went on to be quite successful in the management consulting industry (Big3). He majored in Economics at Harvard, which is the major I will be applying for.

I know typically, it would be no brainer that my connections would help me most with Harvard because my grandfather and uncle attended Harvard for undergrad, but Stanford is one of the only schools that considers applicants with parents who attended SGSB legacies. Given that both my legacy connections to Harvard and Stanford are secondary and not primary (not my parents), do either strengthen my chances? For which school do my connections to my relatives strengthen my chances more?

I am completely split between the two of them in trying to decide which to REA. Please let me know your thoughts.

2

Every college defines legacy as it sees fit. At Harvard, a parent needs to have attended Harvard as an undergrad. At Stanford the parent can have attended any Stanford school. Neither considers secondary legacy.

So apply to the school that’s your top choice.

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