<p>Not sure if this question will have an answer, it is more for admission staff. I'm curious as to how much a legacy impacts an admission's decision, even at the graduate level. I would like to know what the definition of a legacy and its limitations are. My family background is interesting as I do not have any immediate family members who graduated recently from Yale, but I do have many in my family's long ancestry, which, some went on to include notable persons in American history. I can trace back my family line to one of the earliest graduates of Yale college. </p>
<p>So, with this information, can anyone explain or tell me if it would have any impact on an admissions decision? Is it even worth mention during the application process?</p>
<p>My D listed relatives back into the 17&1800s but I doubt it had any serious effect one way or the other.</p>
<p>In her day there were two areas on the applicaion to list Yale relatives - one for siblings, parents and grandparents and one for other relatives.</p>
<p>The Common App asks where your parents and siblings went to college, but does not provide space for other relations. So, you could note your family’s Yale Ancestry as an addendum to your Yale Supplemental essay when you submit it. Given the below article though, I’m not sure what effect it will have. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>“Brenzel . . . provided some interesting data about the substantial decline in legacy admissions at Yale over time. In 1939, he said, legacies (defined as children of Yale college graduates) made up 31.4 percent the enrolled class at Yale. Today, they make up 8.7 percent. (Including the children of Yale alumni of professional and graduate schools adds a few percentage points to these totals.)”</p>
<p>“Brenzel noted that the percentage of low-income students receiving Pell Grants at Yale has increased to 14 percent, higher than the 10 percent overall figure for legacies.”</p>
<p>It seems to me that you might mention this in an essay, or perhaps as an answer to “why Yale,” but if these are distant relatives it really doesn’t say much about you.</p>