One of my children is considering applying ED to the selective SLAC that his father and grandfather attended. Neither however were significant alumni donors. How might that impact admission chances?
Depends if the SLAC considers legacy. Check their Common Data Set.
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Thanks @skieurope. According to CDS “Alumni/ae relation” is “considered”.
Could it actually harm your chances if the alumni did not give much? Is the intended advantage of “legacy” substantially about alumni giving?
No.
How much legacy helps at that particular college is unknown. What is known, because it’s applicable everywhere, is that legacies still get denied, and unqualified legacies will generally not be accepted.
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It’s a nudge if she’s otherwise qualified (especially since she’s applying ED).
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For most schools the amount/frequency of donations and time volunteered can be a plus (a mega donor may be a paid spot in essence). So in one sense, a small or non-donor still gets a legacy advantage vs non-legacies (amount of advantage varies by schools that consider it). On the other hand, in relative terms, a high donor child may have an advantage over a low donor child, all else being roughly equal.
My D is a double legacy (both parents) at a SLAC and was accepted RD. We’ve been consistent donors, modest amounts. I’ve been an active volunteer since I graduated, but my spouse has hardly volunteered. My D had strong stats, but alma mater was a reach. I’m pretty sure that my volunteerism made a bigger difference than our donations. We know several alumni who gave small amounts regularly but never volunteered whose strong stats kids were WL’d.
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Thanks @gotham_mom. Glad it worked out, definitely too late for us to start volunteering now!
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Good luck to your student. Applying ED should help, especially if their stats are strong.
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