<p>I'm starting to compile my college list and i estimate duke would be a reach for me, but how much would legacy help if my dad went there for undergrad?</p>
<p>Nobody can say for sure…Has he donated any money? Is he active in the alumni association? Does he conduct interviews? etc. However, it certainly helps. It helps much more if you apply ED than RD, though. If you’re qualified and apply ED, it usually puts you over the edge. That is, it becomes your “hook,” but it will NOT compensate if you application is clearly inferior in some other way.</p>
<p>again, Legacies that apply early have MUCH greater advantage than Legacies that apply regular. But simply being a legacy is not going to be a golden ticket. As much as it sucks to say, if your dad has donated money, you are in a better position. Similarly, there is a dollar amount that can get you off the waitlist. It’s just how it goes.</p>
<p>woah, really? O.o Is that just for legacies on the waitlist or for anyone?</p>
<p>anyone. 50 grand can go a long way in getting you where you want to go.</p>
<p>I see this representation that legacy has greater impact in ED than RD repeated often as gospel, but I cannot imagine that this is something the Admissions Office would release data on.</p>
<p>My son’s experience would argue against this common wisdom. He had a solid UW GPA of about 3.8 from a good private school, 2300 SAT’s with an 800 math, and an impressive music supplement. He was deferred ED at Duke despite being obviously generally competitive and a legacy, and then was admitted RD with no additional information to his application other than a single additional teacher’s recommendation.</p>
<p>Don’t ED to Duke unless it is clearly your first choice and you believe you would be competitive in their general applicant pool. Legacy is not going to propel you into a school beyond your resume (except, perhaps admittedly, in those cases cited above where major money is a factor - these students are euphamistically called “Development Candidates” in the lingo of admissions).</p>
<p>I just finished reading a book about college admissions by an ex-admissions officer at Duke. From what I understand, there will be very little effect on your application if your dad is not a member of the alumni association and does not donate to the school. As his involvement increases (i.e. gives more money), they will be less likely to reject you for fear of losing his support.</p>
<p>^ So I guess that translates to give a million dollars and you won’t be rejected?</p>
<p>Actually I have some doubts about the actual level of awareness that the admissions office has regarding alumni giving beyond what the development office tells them. I’m also curious as to exactly how much info is shared between the two offices. It seemed to me (from Chronicle articles) that the development office is pretty selective in terms of the info that they choose to pass on.</p>