<p>Basically how much will it swing a decision in your favor? Also, is there a point where it doesn't matter anymore?</p>
<p>From what I know, legacy is not a deciding factor but will get your application a bit more noticeable, it also may help to pick you out of the crowd of applicants. I’m not sure I entirely understand what you’re asking but if you’re applying to a tough school and don’t have the GPA for it than legacy really won’t help, regardless of how many family members may have attended. Remember legacy is something that may get your application looked at a bit more closely though does not make admission any easier really. Also, I believe it is only grandparents, and parents who apply to legacy, at least that’s the rule at Virginia Tech, I’m not sure if that applies everywhere.</p>
<p>It depends on the college too. Penn only counts legacy for ED, iirc. USC doesn’t consider legacy. But otherwise, what Marina12 said, for the most part. I think a Brown alum said about 1/3rd legacy applicants are admitted, and that’s a lot higher than the overall admit rate.</p>
<p>According to “Crazy U”, 35-40% of Harvard’s incoming class is legacy. Considering the number of legacy apps they get, that doesn’t mean legacy gets you in, but I’m sure the legacy admit rate is higher than 6%. (Of course the child of a Harvard alum is probably better than your average applicant as well, but it’s got to be a definite leg up there.)</p>
<p>Look in the school’s common data set, section C7, or the admissions tab at the college’s entry at [CollegeData:</a> College Search, Financial Aid, College Application, College Scholarship, Student Loan, FAFSA Info, Common Application](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com%5DCollegeData:”>http://www.collegedata.com) to see how important alumni relation is in admissions.</p>
<p>Colleges where it matters do not want to be too specific about how much it helps, because they want alumni to feel like their kids will have an advantage in admissions so that the alumni will keep donating, but they also do not want others to feel that the legacy preference is so large that it is not worth bothering to apply because the legacies will take up all of the slots.</p>
<p>^^Amen to that one.</p>
<p>The fact that Harvard’s is that high makes you wonder why people think they have a chance. Personally, I wish colleges were a lot more transparent about how their admission process really works.</p>
<p>^ but they can’t. Alum of selective schools get sent letters about the reality of low admit rates for their kids – to mollify high expectations that Junior, with is 3.3 GPA isn’t going to get in like mom or dad back in the 80s. Does this affect alumni support? You betcha. It’s in the colleges’ best interest to keep it murky.</p>
<p>At my dad’s alma mater, my legacy didn’t help too much, but I’m convinced I wouldn’t have gotten in without it. If that makes any sense…</p>
<p>At top private schools, legacy is as good a trump card as being a recruited athlete. 
Roughly speaking.</p>
<p>Regarding who gets legacy status, I’ve seen at least a few schools that grant legacy status to students who have had an older sibling attend the school in addition to parents and grandparents.</p>
<p>You’re right MrM, and you can tell by the Common App supplement. Some supplements will include one, two, or three questions, such as: did one of your parents or grandparents graduate/one sibling graduate or currently enrolled/parent employed by the college.
(that last one is as big a trump card as legacy and athlete if the college considers it).</p>
<p>It’s actually not 30-40% of incoming class for Harvard. I don’t know how Crazy U got it wrong (if the info session actually was wrong, or if the audience misunderstood the speaker). According to Dean Fitzsimmons, 30% refers to the admission rate, whereas the percentage of legacy in undergrads is only 12-13%. This was a couple of years ago.
[Legacy</a> Admit Rate at 30 Percent | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/5/11/admissions-fitzsimmons-legacy-legacies/]Legacy”>Legacy Admit Rate at 30 Percent | News | The Harvard Crimson)</p>
<p>Pochette: Legacy admit rate at 30% when the AVERAGE is 6%… well, that tells you how HUGE of a trump card legacy is.</p>
<p>At the ivy with which I’m familiar, the ad com says plainly that being a legacy is no more than a tip, if that. What is true is that while the number of legacy acceptances may be higher than that of non-legacies, the number of legacy applications is also really high–every parent I know who attended this school wants his kid to attend, and the kids have been brought up, often, visiting the school since birth, so they want to go, too. And the kids have the natural advantages that accrue to kids of ivy-league parents(smart parents, good education, sometimes wealth), so they would be good prospects naturally. I’ve known quite a few legacies, a couple who got in (ED, it does make a difference), but several who did not, much to the chagrin of the alum. And what I can say is that the kids who did get in had phenomenal stats–2340 SAT, 1600 SAT II, good ECs, etc. So the legacy may have had a tip, but frankly I think she might have been admitted anyway. Given a large pool of highly-qualified legacies, and a desire on the school’s part to keep the percentage of legacies accepted low, I think it may be possible that being a legacy works against you, especially if you’re from an area (like New York) where you’re also up against a lot of very highly ranked applicants. </p>
<p>So when the question of legacy advantage comes up, I really recommend that students not overestimate its value. It’s not the big deal people often assume it to be.</p>
<p>I definitely believe that legacy students are overall better applicants and their rates are high both because of their talent and status.
It just makes sense if you’re parents went to Harvard, you’d be more likely to be brilliant.</p>
<p>MYOS1634: I agree the figure shows a jump. My point is that the figure stated in Crazy U (30-40%) is not the percentage of legacy in an incoming class.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification - although that doesn’t really make anyone feel any better. From my analysis, the only group that has that high an admit rate is 35+ ACT kids (or the SAT equivalent), and you just know that every legacy admit doesn’t have those stats. Being a legacy at Harvard may not be an auto-admit, but it’s a HUGE jump on everyone else.</p>
<p>MrMom62, if 12-13% of class being legacy was the result of a 30% admission rate, then 30-40% of class being legacy would have to mean a MUCH higher admission rate than 30%. So I would think that this clarification should make people feel a bit better.
I remember thinking that Andrew Ferguson got it wrong in Crazy U, which was too bad because I really enjoyed the book.<br>
I take your point that it still looks like a big jump.</p>
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<p>Without knowing how strong the applicant pools are, one cannot say how much of an influence legacy status per se is. The legacy pool is likely stronger to some extent (who wouldn’t expect the kids of college graduates (particularly super selective college graduates) to be a stronger applicant pool than kids from the general population?), but the college is not going to say how much stronger in order to avoid people figuring out how much an influence legacy status is.</p>
<p>Legacy is only a nudge if the kid would be admitted without legacy status.
However, it’s a huge trump card for borderline kids. Granted, for schools like Harvard, borderline status still means they’re above a majority of the student population. Alumni’s expectations are kept low because it’s as unpredictable as for the others - just with another type of pool, and it’s impossible to know what “borderline” means. But if there’s a question along the line “why is that kid still in the ‘consider’ pile, again?”, the answer is likely to be legacy or athlete (although legacies would be “tagged” so that no one would really ask that question).
The question is even more relevant for schools with powerful alumni networks like Penn State or Michigan, or small private schools that “need” alumni donations (not “want”).</p>