<p>I read somewhere recently that colleges use a grading scale to measure legacy applicants. It said that as soon as a legacy application comes in, it is sent to the Alumni Association for them to look up how much money the family has donated. If it's a lot (a grade of an A or B), the kid gets in automatically. If it's not (a grade of a C or lower), the kid is not given any extra boost for being a legacy, but if not accepted, he will probably be offered a spot on the waitlist. Is this system actually used? And do any of you know if it's used specifically at Yale?</p>
<p>im sure that being a legacy would give you a boost. Period. NO matter how little was donated.</p>
<p>But i'm sure that being a legacy in a high donating family would give you a much more substantial boost</p>
<p>yeah, i agree with brassmonkey. i think any kind of legacy is going to help. but yeah, if you donate more money or have a longer line of legacy, i'm sure it helps more.</p>
<p>That grading system sonuds ridiculous to me, I seriously doubt that's what they do. Being a legacy helps, no matter how much money you donate. Accepting legacies isnt just about keeping current streams of donations going, its also about building new ones by building up family loyalty.</p>
<p>Big dollars make you a development candidate and colleges have development offices that deal with that. Yes, big $$$ gives you a huge boost. Being a legacy will get you the nod over an equally qualified candidate.</p>
<p>But always remember that legacy will never compensate for good grades and test scores! The main boost in legacy is that (as suze said) it will give you the nod over an equally qualified candidate -- so you usually still need high stats, you just have a much better chance of getting in. </p>
<p>Also remember that as a legacy you should apply in the Early stages (whether it be ED or EA) to obtain full benefit of your status.</p>
<p>Okay, I have no idea, but I have a college admissions story from this year.</p>
<p>A double-legacy (both parents) applied EA to Yale this year. She was top 10% (school doesn't rank, so not sure exactly), National Merit Semifinalist, did Band and Chorus and some ECs. Basically, she was in the ballpark for Yale.</p>
<p>Deferred, then rejected. Two other kids from our school got in instead of her.</p>
<p>Maybe the problem was the "SOME" ECs? I'm sure there must have been something that really differentiated the other candidates, like some special activity or hook.</p>
<p>Also, it sounds like you go to a fairly competetive high school -- at least in the sense that kids apply and are admitted to competetive colleges. I live in a podunk town where I may very well be the only kid for miles who applies to Yale -- or Harvard or Princeton for that matter. Will that help at all?</p>
<p>I definitely plan on applying EA. Does anyone happen to have the stats of how many kids are admitting EA compared to RD?</p>
<p>You need to understand that the EA/ED applicants are often self selected 'friends" of the college. The vast majority of recruited athletes, connected legacies, URMs, development candidates. It's just silly to think an average candidate has a better chance ED at an ivy!!!@</p>
<p>Well, I do have another big hook (though I hate to use it as strategy). My best friend died in a car accident because of a drunk driver a few years ago, and another friend and I started a charity, knitting and selling scarves, to raise money for MADD.</p>
<p>Will this, combined with my legacy status, give me an advantage?</p>
<p>legacy is just like scores; good scores wont get you in but bad scores will guarantee you're out</p>
<p>if you pursue it diligently and expand more then yes hopefulbulldog</p>
<p>my AP Physics C teacher who when to MIT says legacy helps a lot when you already have everything the college is interested in</p>
<p>our valedictorian who has legacy to Princeton was accepted to princeton, not sure if it actually did the trick</p>