<p>I'm a high school junior with a reasonable amount of interest in the school. I've yet to visit (I'll be there over the summer) and was just curious as to how much being a legacy applicant increase your chances of admittance. My mother, grandmother, and grandfather all attended the school (Grandfather was chief resident). I feel like I'd be on the edge at best (94% unweighted, top 10%, 2170 SAT, 9 APs by end of senior year, reasonable ECs). Would having legacy make the difference for me with the above stats? </p>
<p>And I apologize for the dismal phrasing, just finished writing a brief 6 page research paper in one night =].</p>
<p>LIke any school Wash U depends on the donations of alumni to a large degree. It is well known and documented that the greater the number of family members that are associated with a university, the higher the average giving. So they won’t let you in without the stats/other background to succeed at the school, but it definitely is a factor once you have established that you have what they are looking for. You seem to be in pretty good shape, although wouldn’t hurt to get your SAT’s up. Can you give us the breakdown of that 2170? If it is like 720 710 740, then no big deal, probably. If it is more like 790 600 780, then you definitely would want to get the low score up. IMHO.</p>
<p>When/If you apply, your relatives that went to WashU will receive a letter telling them that the University is pleased to see that you applied and that they value their relationship with alumni. But the letter continues to say due to the increase in applicants, there are no guaranteed acceptances for legacies anymore. (That was a very rough paraphrase…I got the letter last summer). </p>
<p>Legacy does make a difference. But does it make an unqualified applicant all of a sudden become a qualified applicant? Unless your last name is Olin or Danforth, usually not. Your stats look pretty good anyways as long as you keep up the good work and a legacy status might give you a small leg up. Another thing to consider is ED/RD. Early Decision legacies I think have a pretty good shot (I was one myself and had similar stats.) Of course, if you apply RD it really is a crapshoot so who knows? </p>
<p>Word of Advice: If you do any interviews though make sure you make it clear to them that you are interested in WashU for your own reasons and not because your mother is forcing you to or something like that. </p>
<p>For the SAT it’s 730 CR, 700 Math, 740 writing. I only planned to retake if I had anything below 600, so I think those are going to be the only scores on my app. I’m also taking two the Chemistry and US history subject tests on May 2, which should have scores around 730 and 760 respectively.</p>