<p>How much do legacies matter in terms of being accepted to a college? For example, if Jim had a father who went to the college (say, Columbia for example), how much greater will his chances be of getting in?</p>
<p>Less than a lot of people think, in my opinion. If you are just a regular old legacy (your parents don't donate BIG money/aren't super active alums---even if they do donate money/really like their alma mater), and you apply ED, it will probably give you a modest boost--i.e., if you were qualified before, your chances of getting accepted now are slightly better. RD, very minor boost. </p>
<p>I was rejected from Princeton RD, where I have a double legacy. I was plenty qualified--2290 SAT I/2320 SAT II/4 AP scores of 5/Top 2% rank--so although my extras were probably only average (what killed me, I believe), I was obviously not a lousy candidate for Princeton. This leads me to believe that legacy just can't be that much of a boost--I didn't even get waitlisted.</p>
<p>My father went to Cornell and donates a lot of money, has season tickets to all the sporting events, and kinda knows the head of the admissions department. I was just wondering how much that would increase my chances (2300 SAT, 4.1 GPA, fair amount of ECs).</p>
<p>***I'd just like to point out, before everyone starts ranting about how lucky I am that my dad went to and donates a lot of money to Cornell and how legacies are stupid, that I whole-heartedly agree with them. I too think legacies are dumb and people should be judged based purely on their credentials. Also, I'd like to add that my father donated money and followed the sporting events simply because he really liked Cornell, not just so I could get in. He met the head of the admissions department because he coincidentally sat next to her at a hockey game, and they have season tickets next to each other.</p>
<p>"My father went to Cornell and donates a lot of money, has season tickets to all the sporting events, and kinda knows the head of the admissions department. I was just wondering how much that would increase my chances (2300 SAT, 4.1 GPA, fair amount of ECs)."</p>
<p>you're in</p>
<p>lopo, I think that you are in good shape, but do not get cocky and assume that you will be accepted. Many people told me that I was a shoo-in at Princeton. Now, my parents weren't as active alums as your father is, and Princeton is probably tougher to get into, so this advice was probably overly enthusiastic compared to your situation anyway, but still. There are.no.sure.bets.</p>
<p>Legacies and alumni play very important roles in the lives of colleges and universities...happy alums provide a lot of support to schools, and not just financially. </p>
<p>Depending on the institution, having a parent or sibling who has attended the school can certainly be a bump for you; however, other schools do not put much into the legacy relationship. At some schools, the admit rate for legacies is double (or higher) the admit rate for non-legacies while at others the admit rates aren't really that different for the two groups. If you have any questions about legacy status and how it works in the admissions process of a particular school, call that school's admissions office up and ask them!</p>
<p>policies differ by school, so you need to look into the specifics at the school(s) where you are a legacy. Penn, for example, only gives a bump if you apply ED. At Stanford you are a legacy if your parent(s) hold any degree from Stanford, at many Ivies you're only considered a legacy if your parent(s) attended as undergrads.</p>
<p>If you're on the border, a legacy could get you in. If you're not close to most of the other admitted students, it won't save you.</p>
<p>My Son was admitted to Lafayette, both his dad and I (and his aunt and uncle) are alum. Son said, "I hope they didn't just let me in because of the alumni thing." Hubby replied, "Because of it? They let you in IN SPITE of it! If they looked at MY transcript you'd have been rejected!" We got a good laugh.</p>
<p>both my parents are Stanford master's degree holders and I applied RD and got straight up rejected. :( oh well such is life.</p>
<p>both my parents are masters of law from NYU. my sister got accepted when she applied and she thought it was because she was a legacy. she ended up going to BU. this year, i got accepted at BU (i think it's because of her) and im still waiting on NYU. but the fact that i have friends who've already received their accpetance letters, i think i got rejected at NYU. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>if being a legacy does give you a boost in admission decisions, i bet it's the kind of boost that you do when an ant bites you in the ass.</p>
<p>My family always thought my brother got into Brown by legacy (two grandparents), but I really don't see it, he was deferred and then waitlisted TWICE before he got in. Not exactly how you would treat a legacy if it was really that important.</p>
<p>i got shafted out of washu bc a girl's dad from our school went there...</p>
<p>both of my friend's parents graduated from UNC chapel hill, but yet despite her good grades and good stats, she got waitlisted. legacies clearly are not everything!</p>
<p>The only people who got into Harvard from my school this year were legacies or even double legacies. One of them was rejected at Wash U, Yale, Princeton & waitlisted at Georgetown & Middlebury.</p>
<p>Maybe that says something?</p>
<p>And on the other hand, sphairistic, right here we have 5 or 6 legacies at multiple institutions who struck out at those various colleges. I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly think that I was a qualified applicant in my own right, although I acknowledge my weak extras. I still think that legacy probably helps, but...don't hang your hat on it.</p>
<p>Mmm, true, but perhaps it just depends on your area as well. I know that Harvard has a history of accepting legacies from the "feeder school" I go to (perhaps because a third of the school has some legacy at Harvard--myself not included). It's just been a bit of a downer in my case, because I'm ranked higher than three of the four people who got in from my school this year, have more extracurriculars / awards / leadership than half of them, and I was waitlisted when I got into some of the schools that those admitted didn't get into.</p>
<p>But, of course, it can go the other way as well. Many people thought my legacy at Penn would make me a lock (though, of course, many of them hadn't even heard of Wharton), but I applied RD instead of ED, and my GC warned me that it'd be harder for me to get in rather than easier. And, I didn't get in (waitlist).</p>
<p>Oh, I think that's definitely true. Basically, if you are like me, and go to a no-name public school, and choose to apply RD...don't expect anything anywhere, even at your uber-legacy school.</p>
<p>It's always a crapshoot--I really believe that. My husband went to Amherst and we've donated a whole $50-$100 a year because that's all we could afford. My son applied RD because he couldn't make up his mind about what his "top choice" school was; he had great SATs but only one AP score; his high school does not have a great record at Amherst (kids from his school tended to flunk out, even though for a while it was sending the highest % of kids to Ivies in the country); he didn't take "the most challenging courses;" and had few ECs.</p>
<p>He was rejected by all but Amherst and his most safety-safety. YES, he got in because he's a legacy, clearly. However, he's holding his own (solid B-average that's rising), is working harder and is happier in school than he's ever been, and Amherst made the right decision. You can bet we'll be donating to our graves.</p>
<p>We have such a fondness for the place now, I can't even tell you. (After all, they also took my husband back in the 60s when he was "right off the boat" and had only spend two months in a community college, and gave him a free ride all the way through.)</p>
<p>what if you have a relative that attended the university's graduate school, for instance my Aunt got her masters from Geogretown...would that help at all</p>
<p>I doubt it</p>