<p>My dad is a respected professor at a high ranking research university. Will that have any influence on college admissions?</p>
<p>no,
but… why is everybody on this website from super successful families?</p>
<p>I don’t know what kbrown is talking about. Yes, it is definitely a boost. college admissions have a lot to do with connections, and that is a really stellar one. I know a guy who gets to go to marquette absolutely free because his dad is a teacher there.</p>
<p>It could certainly help you at his college. Profs kids often get a legacy like boost. It really depends on the college. One I worked at gave a big boost to all, another similarly ranked college only gave the boost to very top prof’s kids.</p>
<p>It may not give you much of a boost for admissions at other institutions, but it probably will make a big difference in your cost. Have your dad find out which colleges and universities his university has tuition exchange agreements with, and what kind of tuition discount you would get if you study where he works.</p>
<p>It depends. Public universities usually don’t get much in the way of tuition reduction or special treatment for getting into the school. My dad is a professor at a public university and this is the case. However, private schools, especially highly ranked ones, give their proffesors benefits ( like an incentive to stay). Schools like Stanford and Columbia ( I know for sure, but there are many others will pay the price of their own tuition or half at their institution or possibly any other. Sometimes to qualify, the student must be admissible to the university the parent works at. </p>
<p>I’m not sure about legacy though. I imagine if you are a borderline applicant it would give you a leg up because it would keep people happy. Some schools ask if you parents work at the university you’re applying to so they must take that into account somewhat.</p>
<p>As the spouse of a professor and parent of a senior finishing up his apps, here is what I can say. First, tuition benefits are a common benefit for faculty and often staff at colleges and universities, though there is a tremendous range in the amount. Public universities often offer a small amount whereas privates vary tremendously, from 10% to 75% of the tuition at the employer institution to be used for tuition at the employer school or elsewhere. Some schools may still offer free tuition if you go to your parent’s employer school, but that is increasingly rare as many schools changed their policies in the last ten years. At the same time, if you use this tuition benefit, most schools that we have looked at use that benefit to reduce their financial aid package to you, not to reduce your EFC (expected family contribution.) For ex, assume a $50,000 tuition and room and board school, where your family might be expected to pay $25k and get $25k in financial aid. The school takes your tuition benefit to reduce how much financial aid you get and your family still has to pay $25k.</p>
<p>The second question is whether being a faculty kid can help with admission. Again, this varies tremendously. At my husband’s institution, we were told that between two otherwise highly qualified, equal candidates, being a faculty/staff kid could be the push that gets you in, but that under no circumstances would an applicant who wasn’t highly competitive (say, top 25%) of admits, would that help. In terms of being a boost at other schools, we have heard unofficially that some schools may like faculty kids because they have grown up in an academic environment and will likely do well in college even if they are “late bloomers.”</p>
<p>So, you should talk with your family to understand just what tuition benefits may be available and what the admissions considerations may be at your father’s institution. Good luck.</p>
<p>Also a spouse of a professor. Agree with Midwestmom. It depends on the school. Some give preference or offer paid tuition as a benefit; some don’t. The UCs for example, offer nothing. </p>
<p>Where you dad can help you is, if he’s sat on admissions committees, he’s read lots of personal statements and knows what a good one looks like. Make sure he reads your essays. He also will have contacts at other schools that will give you an honest perspective on what its like there. That was very helpful for us when D was visiting.</p>
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<p>+1</p>
<p>At Rice, children of faculty and staff members do not have to pay tuition.</p>
<p>Definitely check out your dad’s university’s policies regarding a) tuition discounts and b) tuition exchange. If he works at a good school that will give full or most tuition, and also has tuition exchange with other good schools, definitely consider applying to basically only those schools (plus safeties of course) if you have good grades. Even if it isn’t the #1 school in the country, getting full or most tuition at a still well-respected university is AWESOME! Definitely something that should be considered.</p>
<p>My friend’s father is a professor at a well-regarded school. It has tuition exchange with 4 other schools, all excellent universities. As a professor’s daughter, she is given free tuition at any of the 5 schools, provided she gets in. Luckily she is a great student, applied to only those 5 schools, all EA, and got in. She now has the choice of 5 great schools for free. They may not be Harvard or Princeton, but full tuition at 5 top 100 schools is like winning the lottery!</p>
<p>If you haven’t, look at the website for the program Tuition Exchange. I’m a college professor and hope my child will be able to take advantage of this, as my school is part of the program.</p>
<p>Here’s the link: [Tuition</a> Exchange| Career Institution| College Tuition Exchange Program](<a href=“http://www.tuitionexchange.org/]Tuition”>http://www.tuitionexchange.org/)</p>
<p>And some schools aren’t part of the official “Tuition Exchange” but have their own tuition exchange with various other schools. Look into them both.</p>
<p>
How does it work during tax time? Is this considered a freebie by the IRS or is this a benefit that the employer is providing and finds its way on to the W-2? This could be a significant amount that the feds can demand.</p>
<p>eg. I get x thousand dollars of term life insurance for free through my employer and they have to report a few hundred dollars of additional income to reflect this benefit, but the same is not true for health insurance.</p>
<p>FA for tuition is not taxed, but for room and board are taxed, so I would imagine free tuition wouldn’t be taxed.</p>
<p>I work at a private Jesuit university and we have agreements with most other Jesuit unis (although some are much more competitive to get scholarships to than others), the tuition exchange mentioned previously, and the council for independent colleges. Overall that gives my son over 600 schools to choose from, most with complete tuition remissions (again, depending upon the school - the competition is more or less fierce). This perk does counter my meager wages to some extent and is non-taxable. :o)</p>
<p>Another perk is that I can call my admissions folks and ask them to read my son’s admissions essays and offer feedback. We are not a tippy-top school, but this perspective I think will be very useful. Perhaps your dad can make a call to the admissions counselors at his school to set up a meeting, just to review the process and perhaps offer you some insights and advice. The admissions folks at my school were very happy to do so for my son.</p>
<p>I don’t think having a college professor parent is particularly helpful in any other way. Especially since my son is going into a field completely unrelated to mine.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>