My D is a HS junior. Has a 4.4 weighted GPA at a competitive public high school in the DC metro area. Waiting on the results of the January SAT, but she scored 750/710 (M/CR) on her PSAT in October, and scored a 1400 on her first SAT in November. Plays varsity basketball and has extensive volunteer and work experience. She is interested in STEM (pre-med). She will not be a recruited athlete. She does not have URM status.
Here is my question: Given that admission to the SLACs is a crap shoot, how much of a “hook” is my alumni status at Wesleyan? I’ve have given money over the years, but let’s face it, they will not be naming a library after me any time soon.
By way of background, her two older brothers were recruited athletes at SLACs similar to Wesleyan (one which is a fellow member of the Little Three), and they are both students at these schools. Based on our experience, there is no question that being a recruited athlete confers a huge advantage in admissions (esp. football, the sport our two sons play). However, it’s unclear to us how much of an advantage having an alumni parent is to getting admitted to Wesleyan (or to any NESCAC for that matter).
Any thoughts/insights would be appreciated!