<p>I go to a top tier school which considers siblings currently attending a to be legacy. I was wondering if it is worth a shot trying to do something extra to help get my brother in. As is, he has a small chance of getting in (scores/grades consistent with lower end of admitted pool). I haven't exactly thought through what I could do. I was thinking of at least stopping by the admissions office and seeing what I could work up.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever tried to improve a sibling's, or for that matter anyone else's, by doing something like this? Do you guys think it would be beneficial? Any idea how admissions views this? I see how it could be frowned upon, but I don't see how it could hurt. Any tips on what I can do?</p>
<p>Any thoughts at all on this topic are appreciated.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s anything you can do through admissions but you could maybe make an introduction to a prof or two in an area he’s interested in. Unlikely, but something could come of it if they feel he has something to offer. Bottom line is it’s a tip, and if his scores are at the bottom of the accepted pool perhaps you should help him with his realistic applications.</p>
<p>I have a feeling about what helped me get into my college: my sister is attending there, and she is absolutely owning. I am a similar student, better in math and science but worse in humanities and such, with slightly worse grades junior and senior year (I really blew off freshman and sophomore year), and with similar test scores. She is a better student than me, but not by a ton, so maybe the university figured that if she is doing so well there, than maybe I could do a dece job. I don’t know if the uni. considered her performance when evaluating me, but I think it could definitely be a possibility. </p>
<p>So maybe if you do better in your studies, your sibling will have a better shot.</p>
<p>Actually I looked over the average scores to get into my school, and he is in the lower middle 50% range. Its not as bad as I thought. I excel in math and science whereas he is much stronger in humanities and much worse in math. I do very well in school so maybe that will help. I’ll feel it out when I get back to school and figure out what I can do. He is considering applying ED, but I don’t want him to waste ED if I’m not helping him that much.</p>
<p>Some top tier schools rely on alum networks. If you don’t know who is influential in your area, you can easily find out. An alum is more likely to ‘go to bat’ for a kid where there is some (albeit questionable) track record for success - i.e. that’s where you come in.</p>
<p>The best thing you could do would be to get him aquainted with some of the people who work for the university, but not in the admissions office.
They’ll be more willing to listen to good words from an adult like that rather than a college kid who very well may be lying.</p>
<p>I think there’s likely nothing more you can do than being his brother, and that may help.</p>
<p>Colleges look out for their own interests; they must, in order to be attractive to applicants. Legacies have a tendency to contribute more money, and more money means improvement, in ability to attract top faculty, build top facilities, and improve financial aid.</p>
<p>I would be hesitant about going into the admissions office and trying to pull some strings for him. You don’t want to hurt his chances in any way.</p>
<p>My sister goes to Brown and I will be applying next year and she has introduced me on various weekends to relevant professors and some of the admissions staff (she works there on Wednesdays)</p>
<p>Help your brother “package” himself to make him attractive to your school…help him write a memorable essay, especially if he can demonstrate a true passion of his an an area your school is seeking to improve. Help him improve his academic profile by encouraging him to improve his grades and take a challenging curriculum. help him prep to improve his standardized test scores. </p>
<p>But first make sure that your school is where he wants to go! </p>