<p>I'm not exactly "legacy". My parents didn't go there but I do have a sister there who's a junior this year. I was just wondering if my chances of an EA admission are increased greatly or not much by my sister being there. Are parent legacies "better" than having sibling legacies?
Also does being White or Asian make it harder to get in EA? or RD? People have told me it doesnt, but I cant imagine how it doesnt. It seems like minorities other than Asians have it easier</p>
<p>BTW:
SAT I: 770 CR 730 M 770 Writing (2270)
SAT II: 750 Math I, 750 US History
GPA: 98.88/100
Pretty strong ECs, decent essays, decent teacher/ counselor recs. I wasnt allowed to read them so im not sure</p>
<p>Having a sibling here isn’t a huge factor in admissions. They won’t let in someone who is clearly a weak applicant simply because that person has a sibling here.</p>
<p>That being said, you have a very strong application. I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but try not to go too crazy worrying about your chances. You’ve turned in your application, and it’s completely out of your hands at this point. The decision has already been made by this point, and they will soon be sending you your letter. Just be proud that you did your best, and try to stay as calm as possible for the next several days. I feel like listening to other people’s analyses of your application can actually make you more stressed and anxious, and those people have nothing to do with your admission decision anyway. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>So siblings don’t help that much? Do siblings help LESS than parents or do legacies in general not have much of an effect on an admission decision?</p>
<p>Legacy is important at ND. Having a sister attend does not qualify you as a legacy applicant. Your resume is strong enough without the legacy factor though.</p>
<p>@WAAHHH I am not an admissions officer, so I cannot speak to exactly how important having a sibling at ND or being a legacy is, but my point is that neither is a major consideration on your application. Grades, test scores, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and essays are all much more important than legacy status. The only time legacy is really considered is when someone is really on the borderline. At that point, they might say, “This one could really go either way, but he/she is a legacy, so we’ll let him/her in.” It seems like there is a misconception that you can be severely underqualified and get accepted only because you are a legacy. If ND is going to take an extremely underqualified applicant based solely on legacy status, that student’s parents must be very generous donors. Even in that case, I know of some big name donors whose children and grandchildren have been rejected because they just weren’t good enough. Again, nobody on this forum can give you specifics of exactly how much it matters since none of us work in the admissions office, but I can tell you that I know quite a few legacies and they are all extremely intelligent and almost definitely would have gotten accepted even if they weren’t legacies.</p>
<p>I was told point blank at an information session that having a sibling there will not help you. It won’t hurt, of course, but it won’t make a difference. The legacy thing mostly exists for deciding between two applicants or if you are, as sasbmar said, a borderline applicant. You have a strong application. Try not to worry. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Legacy status applies only if your parent graduated from ND. Notre Dame has been very upfront in recent years in stating they would like 25% of the incoming class to be legacies. That being said, these applicants still need strong test scores, GPA, etc.</p>
<p>Legacies do matter but applicants must still be in the general range of admitted students. A parent qualifies as a legacy but not a sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. Also, if both parents are graduates, you only get credit for one. I was told this by someone who has been through the process and closely connected to the University. I have a friend whose son was rejected even though he and his wife were graduates. I also know of students who were rejected that had better grades and scores than legacy candidates who were accepted. You just have to hope and trust that they are being as fair as possible knowing that there are not enough spots for everyone who applies and thus, most applicants will be disappointed in the outcome. Naturally, this is why it is important to apply to several schools.</p>