Legacy at Columbia

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

Does Columbia consider master in Columbia College as legacy? Is it only considered in ED? Any advantage?

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2

There is no question that asks, “Are you a legacy?” As for definitions, this is what Columbia has said in the past:

When an applicant is extremely competitive and compares favorably with other similarly talented candidates, being the daughter or son of a Columbia University graduate (from any Columbia school or college) may be a slight advantage in the admission process. This advantage may especially apply for “legacy” candidates.

Please note: applicants are considered to be “legacies” of Columbia only if they are the children of Columbia College or Columbia Engineering graduates.

They do not specify that it only applies for ED

3

Does this apply to Combined Plan dual degree graduates from SEAS too?

4

I don’t see why it wouldn’t

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5

Have to say this whole concept confuses me. On the one hand it sounds like a masters or Barnard or Teachers would confer legacy or additional consideration but then a masters is not considered legacy?!

Are they essentially saying there are three categories

  1. Everyone
  2. Other Columbia Degrees (Barnard/Masters)
  3. Columbia College or SEAS
    and 2 may help, 3 will definitely help? It is a lot of information they ask about alums and the categories are very broad, cousins, other relatives, I have to wonder what is the point

If the male child of a Barnard alum is not a legacy, what are they exactly?

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6

Basically, yes.

Child of a Barnard alumna. If lucky, they have legacy from their dad.

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7

That is still the answer in their FAQ:
https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/faq
keyword: “legacy”

… is a child of a Columbia University graduate.

I think, for the purposes of traditional undergraduate applications (CC or SEAS), “legacy” is narrowly defined as a child who also had been CC or SEAS, while in the “second tier”, anyone with a Columbia U degree (e.g., graduate schools or other colleges) is included.

Think of it as college-legacy vs. university-legacy.

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8

Does anyone know if the Columbia supplement asks about legacy and if a grandparent will qualify on the Scoir/Coalition app?

9

See my answer at the beginning of the thread.