<p>In my own observations, I think the importance of being a legacy has declined, because more schools are looking to give minorities or first-generation applicants a chance, do you agree? Yes, in smaller schools I think being a legacy is probably a guaranteed admission, but at top-tier schools it seems that it has become less important over the last year. Well, feel free to comment, maybe the only reason it seems like this is because of the people around me who are getting rejected</p>
<p>Only helps Early Admission at top schools too. Regular Decision Legacy does not help AT ALL</p>
<p>i think it depends on the school.</p>
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In my own observations, I think the importance of being a legacy has declined, because more schools are looking to give minorities or first-generation applicants a chance, do you agree?
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<p>False on all accounts. Having any of these will not do you any good if you don't have stellar grades and the scores to back them up. </p>
<p>Confused is right if you are not using your legacy status during ED, it is of no help. </p>
<p>IF you check out the parents forum was a big discussion about parents who have had their child(ren) rejected (not even waitlisted) at their alma mater:</p>
<p>While being URM or first generation are tip factors (emphasis on tip) because both groups of students are stepping up their game those pools are becoming even more competive. IF you visit the admission decisions at the ivies this past season, you will find a lot of students in each category who thought they were shoo-ins only to find themselves being rejected/waitlisted.</p>
<p>You guys are simply wrong. Tufts accepts 47% of legacy applicants. Georgetown actually reads the legacy applications seperately from the others during RD.</p>
<p>koolcrud's right on this one.....penn has said i get some sort of special interview privileges for being a legacy, and they do accept a higher percentage of those applicants than regular ones. nothing's a guarantee at any of these schools, but legacies do help, and sometimes they make the difference.</p>
<p>a) there is no such thing as guaranteed admissions at any top school
b) legacy still matters a lot - simply put, legacies = $$$, rejecting legacies = loss of donors (alums will stop donating to you if you reject their kid) therefore legacies are much harder to turn down</p>
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legacy still matters a lot - simply put, legacies = $$$, rejecting legacies = loss of donors (alums will stop donating to you if you reject their kid) therefore legacies are much harder to turn down
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<p>That's the kicker. There are legacies and there are legacies. The alumni that gives major buck their kid would not be considered a legacy but more of a developmental admit.</p>
<p>It's factual that legacy counts less than it did in the past at top schools. At my high school, 30 years ago virtually anyone could get into any ivy where they were a legacy (witness GW Bush) now it's about 65%, and these are kids with high academic credentials. Legacies are a highly qualified group at top colleges, think high IQ, accomplished parents who sent them to top schools. Lots of competition.</p>
<p>GW Bush is an awful example. His father was ambassador to China when he applied. He was more than the run of the mill legacy. I don't even need to mention the incredible amouts of money that his grandfather, Prescott Bush, had donated over the years.</p>
<p>At top tier schools I think legacy helps only if you have the grades and scores to get in, say it's between the legacy and 2 other people just like you the legacy will get in I don't think, unless there is a building named after your family, it helps that much</p>
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In my own observations, I think the importance of being a legacy has declined, because more schools are looking to give minorities or first-generation applicants a chance, do you agree?
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</p>
<p>At top schools, overall, I do believe legacy has declined from a few years back.</p>
<p>Now, let's actually examine the effects of legacy.</p>
<p>I believe legacy don't help much at all in regular decision, and only help in early admissions.</p>
<p>The thing is, schools are not going to accept a mediocre student with legacy. Why should they? They have so many students with legacy AND great stats. After all, if you are the son of a Stanford graduate, you're probably not going to have shabby grades/scores.</p>
<p>I think it's just that those who apply EA/ED with legacy gets a leg-up, meaning they'll be chosen over those with same stats but no legacy.</p>
<p>How do the adcoms know if you're first generation or not?</p>
<p>You fill out the highest educational level attained by father and by mother in the application. So if one has only finished high school, and the other has only finished middle school, that means you're first generation.</p>