<p>So, I have a little problem with applications.
I have no legacy. Anywhere. My parents attended school in a different country. I also have no family donations.
I'm hoping that high SSAT scores, grades and great teacher reccamendations will make up for it, but I also don't exactly have any hooks- I'm a good writer, but there aren't any awards avalible for me to get. I also play club soccer, if that helps.
I also need serious financial aid. Max I'll be able to pay is maybe 10,000.
How horribly is this going to affect my applications?
(Oh, and I live in Illinois. Is that what one would call an underrepresented state?)</p>
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Join the club-- neither do the vast majority of applicants. </p>
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ditto</p>
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Bottom line is there there are a lot of qualified applicants competing for a limited pot of money.</p>
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Illinois is generally well represented bcs a lot of schools host receptions & recruit in Chicago since it is a large metropolis.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most kids that get admitted aren’t legacies or siblings. For example, at my kids’ school a class typically contains 25% legacies or siblings. 75% of the students aren’t. However, a lot more legacies and siblings apply than can be admitted; in some years they could fill the entire freshman class with legacies and siblings, but they don’t. So while being a legacy or sibling probably does give an applicant some advantage, it isn’t is big as most people think.</p>
<p>For many New England schools, Illinois is probably underrepresented.</p>
<p>Lots of kids from Chicago, bcs the NE schools go there to host open houses</p>
<p>It varies by school. Illinois is definitely underrepresented at my kids’ school (Concord).</p>
<p>It also depends what you mean by underrepresented. There are more students from Illinois than from the other Great Lakes states, but it’s still a very small number.</p>
<p>Under-represented state in my book means if u enroll in the school, the school gets to brag that they’ve added a new state to their list.</p>
<p>Beta- Think about the Legacy applicant pool (any given year) and try to put things into perspective. A true legacy is an applicant with DIRECT lineage to the Alum. It is NOT a Stepmother’s brother or a second cousin. That’s an acquaintance or distant family member- worth mentioning, but doesn’t qualify as a legacy. If Uncle George went to Groton, again- it’s worth mentioning, but a niece or nephew is NOT a legacy. Are you starting to see the pool shrink? You are not competing against an army of Legacies. In fact, those kids have their own hurdles:</p>
<p>Legacy applications only have an impact when the Alum (think Grandparent/ Parent) brings a strong candidate and has been consistent on two important fronts: Alum Involvement and Alum Annual Giving. I’ve heard of legacies being denied but it had to do with an Alum showing up like a long lost relative with a less than viable candidate.</p>
<p>And remember- a Sibling is a Sibling- NOT a Legacy. That’s a completely different pool.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the definition of Legacy stretched too many times here on CC. I hope this helps and good luck!</p>
<p>@photographermom, can you say little bit more about the difference between legacy and sibling? I too have heard these terms used mostly interchangeably, and was under the assumption that siblings were definitely in a different pool than most applicants.</p>
<p>FWIW, Choate currently has 13 students from Illinois, but only one in the 3rd form (ninth grade), last admission cycle.</p>
<p>Schools differ in their definition of legacy. I would not get too tied up in trying to decide whether another applicant is a legacy or not. There are some families which have significant histories of supporting schools over decades, if not generations. If there’s a building carrying the family’s name on campus, I think the school will behave as if there’s a legacy-type tie, even if the parents happened to attend another school.</p>
<p>Many students are legacies at more than one school. I think it’s a good thing for schools to have legacies in their student body, because these kids are often able to choose between schools. </p>
<p>Boarding schools don’t necessarily admit siblings as well. Day schools are more likely to admit younger siblings, because families strongly prefer to have both or all children at the same school. In any case, good schools will not accept students who are not suited to the school, even if the student’s a legacy. (It helps to remember that admissions officers don’t expect every student to be in the top 20%. “Suited to the school” could mean, “likely to graduate if he works hard.”)</p>
<p>However, in terms of competition for admission from other applicants, I would worry more about the athletes in the pool. If you are a talented soccer player, that’s probably more important than being a nonathletic legacy.</p>
<p>@booklady- Sorry for the late response. I was dragged out of the house :).</p>
<p>If a sibling is a young alum or current student, the sibling applicant would be in the sibling pool- which is different from the legacy pool. What Periwinkle said about sibling applicants is very true. Then again, everything Periwinkle writes is spot on. But I’ll respectfully disagree (this one time) that schools have different definitions for legacy. I think it goes down the line- not sideways. </p>
<p>When K2 was looking at schools, he interviewed at K1’s school where he would have been a third generation legacy (on his father’s side) like his brother. When he applied, he only wrote down the names of his grandfather and father (along with their class years). When he filled in the sibling portion, he wrote his brother’s name and class. If his brother had already graduated, we still would have kept him in the sibling section of the application.</p>
<p>Legacy really doesn’t mean much to the school other than “that probably means they will give us more money” </p>
<p>It is not that big of a deal honestly. All a legacy does is show the school you are loyal.</p>
<p>Yeah, because boarding schools hate tradition and they absolutely despise devotion and service. @ccnaf14- If you think legacy is all about money, you are mistaken…</p>
<p>^What PhotographerMom said. Legacy is not simply about money. I do think sibling and legacy status can lend a boost or at least a closer look at certain schools IF the applicant is solid. If not, how to account for all the sibs/legs at the schools we’ve been a part of (even though, yes, we all know a case(s) of sibs/legs who were turned away)? </p>
<p>Still, I would caution those families against making assumptions, firing up expectations, or feeling a sense of entitlement with their status. It’s just too competitive at most schools and giving off even a whiff of entitlement would be very off-putting to the adcoms, to my mind. </p>
<p>Bottom line, BetaBlondie: you should not at all worry that your non-legacy status will work against you. Even if it can give others a little boost, if you are a stand-out candidate you will rise above. Lack of hooks could be more of an issue for you. And financial aid is a tricky topic. I’d search the forums for the most recent threads as it can indeed put your application in a more competitive pile. Need-blind admissions only exist still at maybe Andover and St. Paul’s, as far as I know. Exeter and Deerfield are very, very generous, as are many others, but I believe there is more scrutiny these days for FA applicants.</p>
<p>The status of legacy students at schools has also changed. Shamus Khan’s book about St. Paul’s painted a memorable picture of the difference in school culture between his time as a St. Paul’s student, and later stint as a teacher. </p>
<p>Sibling status is harder to judge. I think it also depends on the family and prior sibling’s relation to the school. If the whole family is an asset to the school community, I think it’s a plus for a younger sibling’s application. </p>
<p>All things being equal, I do think many legacy applicants are (on the whole) better prepared for prep high school admissions. They’re more likely to have attended pre-preps, more likely to have been encouraged to develop athletic and musical talents than applicants who decided to attend a prep boarding school at a later point. And on this site, you can read angry posts from parents of kids with legacy ties, when their kids are turned down for admission despite having been well-prepared.</p>
<p>It’s hard to predict the outcomes at the very strongest schools for any applicant. Just put together an application which presents you. Take time on your essays. Check them for punctuation errors. Apply to a range of schools.</p>
<p>Thank you for the information, everyone! I feel much better now.</p>