<p>My father is a Cornell alumnus, his father is a Cornell alumnus, and while I think this is a stretch, my great uncle is also a Cornell alumnus. I was wondering how powerful a legacy is for a Cornell application, and if having a grandparent and uncle actually counts as legacy anymore.
I will most likely be applying to Cornell, albeit not ED, so I was wondering what my chances are of getting in. Here are my statistics:
W GPA: ~4.4 (w/o freshman year around 4.6)
12 APs total (11 AP classes, 1 sorta self studied)
Class rank: Top 10%
AP scores: 5: Euro History; don't know others
6 honors classes
UW: ~3.86-7 (without freshman year it's above 3.9. Does Cornell look at freshman year?)
SAT I: 2320 (780 CR + W, 760 M)
SAT II: 790 USH, 770 Chem
PSAT: 205 (commended, not SF or F)</p>
<p>ECs:</p>
<p>ECs:
Editor and writer for a blog about travel with special needs children
Clubs:
President and founder of Linguistics Club (11, 12)
President and founder of Model UN (12)
-Head Delegate at BruinMUN (November 2011)
Editor of Literary Chronicles (11, 12)
Volunteering at Rec Center (9)
Member of Philosophy Club (9, 10)
Member of Red Cross Club (10, 11, 12)
-Activities Coordinator (12)
Member of "padder" club-volunteering, etc. (11, 12)
Hebrew High School (8, 9, 10)</p>
<p>Community Service:
Red Cross: approx. 40 hours (18 hrs/year)
Friendship Circle (11, 12): 40 hours (33 hrs/year)
Rec Center: 20 hrs (20 hrs/year)
Youth Leadership Congress:
20 meetings, 40 hrs/year
-Web Moderator (11), unknown (12)
Community Emergency Response Team: 18 hours training, 4 events participated)
Certified in First Aid and CPR </p>
<p>Hooks:
Strong legacy (I think)
-Father
-Grandfather
-Great uncle</p>
<p>Yes, being a potential 3rd generation Cornellian would be a powerful hook. Your chance of acceptance would be greater than if you weren’t a legacy. That’s really all anyone can say.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard that legacies always get accepted or a guaranteed transfer after 2 years but idk how accurate that is”
It is not accurate at all; the majority of legacies who apply are not accepted.</p>
<p>Being a legacy is not as good as being a recruited athlete or URM, but it is significant. Even without legacy status, you stand a decent chance of being admitted (regardless of applying ED or RD).</p>
<p>Your father and grandfather make you a legacy, your uncle does not make you a legacy (has to be direct descendant). Being a legacy will help; being 3rd generation probably won’t mean much more than being just a 2nd generation legacy.</p>
<p>The majority of legacies do not get in, although by percentage, they do have a higher acceptance rate. And, in addition, legacies are not automatically given a GT.</p>
<p>You have a very good chance at getting into Cornell given your stats. Your legacy will help if you really want to attend Cornell. Do you?</p>
<p>Sometimes I think schools pick up on students using legacy to help make very selective schools “become a safety.”</p>
<p>Your stats make you a candidate at all of the selective schools. If you really want to attend Cornell, make it known in your application and visitation, and you have a good chance IMO. Otherwise, the decision can go either way.</p>
<p>Cornell isn’t a safety for me; it can best be described as an interest. My dad is pretty unwilling to pay for private school, but… he may have a soft spot for his alma mater. Problem is at his income level (over 250,000) he is almost assuredly not in a position to receive any financial aid.
I am actively looking at schools with merit aid opportunities, and unfortunately Cornell does not have any. As such, while it isn’t a safety, it isn’t my first choice (Claremont McKenna is my ED, since it does have merit scholarships).</p>
<p>I do like Cornell, as when I imagine college, I see the classic Northeastern buildings. Claremont McKenna is a very modern design, while even Risley Hall-my dad’s place of residence-has a more old-fashioned appeal.
Also, my parents would prefer I stay closer to home (I’m a Southern Californian), and Cornell is possibly one of the farthest places you could be from where I live. Ithaca’s pretty isolated. >.<</p>
<p>Just a thought – if Merit Financial aid is an important aspect of where you go to college, you may want to consider whether you should apply ED anywhere. As a rule, if you get in ED, you’re locked in (unless the family truly can’t afford it). Given your stated family income, this exception isn’t likely to apply.</p>
<p>you’ll probably get in; legacy kids don’t have glimmering halos over their files, but ceteris paribus, it’s a good thing to have around. write good apps, and definitely don’t overplay the legacy as a ‘hook’ - at best it’s something to tip the scales.</p>
<p>I’m not knocking Claremont McKenna at all, which sounds like a great school. Just sort of suggesting that if merit money is important (and why not!!!), you may want to cast a wider net. Good luck with whatever you do!!!</p>
<p>Well, I am applying (albeit not ED) for merit money to a decent amount of schools.
Likely:
Tulane
University of Miami
USC
Unlikely:
University of Chicago
Emory
WUSTL
UNC-Chapel Hill</p>
<p>Well, for Claremont I’m going to apply ED and say I need financial aid. If they don’t offer me a suitable package for merit aid or financial aid, I can decline.</p>
Unfortunately my dad isn’t very keen on paying the $57,125 price tag. Ouch.</p>