<p>I'm a legacy at yale and I'm applying this year, however like most students, whether or not I attend (should I be accepted XD) will primarily be based on the atmosphere of the institution. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if they've percieved legacy students being thought of or treated any differently than regular admits. Anecdotal evidence would be great! Oh and this is off the record of course...</p>
<p>thankssSSssssS</p>
<p>Students with legacy aren't treated any differently (except by the admissions office :P). They comprise 10%+ of the undergraduate body... that's a lot of people to alienate if you feel like being snobby toward legacies. That's not an official statistic, but it's about how many people in my college-year have legacy that i'm aware of (although that # might be inflated, because i'm in a college that legacies would definitely elect to be in if they had the choice). The only reason someone might treat you differently would be if you were obnoxious about people in your family having gone to yale. Nobody acts as if you're somehow less deserving because you have legacy (whether or not they think it), although i know some people who are self conscious about their legacy status for that reason.</p>
<p>LOL: While I was aware that there were legacies, the subject never came up frankly. While I was there were some kids with prominent last names (and therefore obvious Yale ties) but I don't think any of them ever felt out of place or having gotten in due to some unfair advantage. No one I knew ever mentioned it -- we were all just happy to be there. </p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>being a legacy admit doesn't mean you are necessarily less deserving, but it does mean that there's a high chance you might be less deserving. the edge which is given to some students by legacy status must, for others, be made up by things actually done. that's more deserving.</p>
<p>Being a legacy does not mean there's a high chance you might be less deserving. I'm not going to find the link now (you can search my old posts b/c I've posted it several times), but in an interview about legacies, President Levin stated that legacies as a subset of admitted freshman have higher GPAs and standardized test scores that the overall pool of students. Legacy status is only a teeny tip unless you've got family members who have donated substantial sums of money. You wouldn't believe the legacies that I've seen rejected. People on this board who haven't followed Yale admissions over the long term tend to put more weight on legacy status and URM status than either actually deserve.</p>
<p>Ditto to what kwijiborjt said about how legacies are treated/perceived on campus.</p>