Should my son mention relatives during the application process? His cousin, great grandfather, and great uncle attended Brown.
No; only parents and/or siblings are worth mentioning. Mentioning distant relatives like that would appear as a last resort for legacy points to admissions officers, making it seem like the applicant is drastically relying on the reputation of others to get him in.
I don’t know. If there are questions such as ‘why Brown’ and the answer is, in part, that it’s kind of a legend in the family ever since great grampa joe went there, then why not? But I agree that just bringing it up for the sake of bringing it up wouldn’t add much. And, by the way, from what I’ve read here, I don’t think siblings count as legacies. Again, however, if the context invites the mention, by all means. Often people are turned on to a college/university by their older sib’s experiences.
Each college is free to define “legacy” as it sees fit, and what weight, if any, a legacy has in the decision process. Brown says:
http://www.browndailyherald.com/2014/04/14/students-question-use-legacy-admission/
Only if the family tradition means something to him. If he loved hearing his great grandfather’s stories about Brown, and that’s why he’s applying. If he visited his cousin and fell in love with the school during the visit. If he has no good anecdotes to link to these family members, then it won’t gain him any advantage.
@fireandrain . Thanks for articulating better than I did what I meant.