How do legacies affect admissions decisions? Basically, I have a 6 generation legacy at Yale (I would be the seventh generation to go) and both of my parents went there. My parents do not donate a lot of money to the school but I do believe they make a small contribution each year. I will definitely need Financial Aid. I also have a small legacy at Brown – my dad got his Ph.D. there and was an adjunct professor there for a year. I was born on campus and lived across the street from Brown for the first four years of my life. How much will these legacies (specifically Yale’s) help my application?
If it is at all relevant, I have a 34 on my ACT and a 3.71 unweighted GPA (although it is a 3.5 for freshman and sophomore year and a 4.0 for junior and senior – there was a major intervention between my sophomore and junior years). I am not exactly asking for my chances of getting into Yale or Brown; more so I am curious as to how my application will be impacted by such a family lineage. Any thoughts?
Legacies definitely matter, especially at the Ivies. They also matter at other elite schools. When our D was applying to Stanford, her dad’s alma mater, we received a letter from the admissions committee detailing their legacy policy, (Higher admit rate, more eyes reviewing the application, a warning that they could easily fill a class with legacy applicants, so don’t get your hopes up, etc.) Did her legacy status help? Nope. In spite of her 2340 (old SAT), NMF, salutatorian status, she was rejected…and five years later, no longer cares.
Good luck to you! Be sure to love your safety schools, just in case!
7th generation legacy is insane. If the rest of your application is up to par (GPA is low, but upwards trend?), I would be surprised if you didn’t get in. From my observations and talks with people knowledgeable about the admissions process, a strong legacy connection is one of the best hooks possible.
That being said, colleges are of course highly unpredictable. Make sure you have a good mix of safeties and matches.