If your parent attended a college for two years, but dropped out before graduating, does this weigh in college admissions? The parent continues to receive literature asking for donations, but, as I said, did not finish their degree at the school. Would this reflect poorly on a student, or negatively affect their admissions decision? Would the parent’s failure to graduate look bad to an admissions board?
The school in question is a less competitive ivy.
Does this mean that your parent did not graduate college and that you are the first in your family who will complete a a college degree? That is considered a “hook” at colleges. And assuming that you have the kind of GPA, test scores, letters of recommendation, extracurriculars and essays that will impress admission officers at that selective college, your parent’s college history should not matter to them.
You will be asked to provide your parent’s educational history on your application and it will be up to the college to determine its impact on your overall application. It is best to assume that your application will be reviewed on its own merits. A few comments:
–Generally a legacy is a graduate of a college. But colleges do define legacy differently so you can look on the school website to see if it is made clear there or check with admissions.
–I don’t think your parent not graduating would reflect poorly on you. People leave colleges for all kinds of reasons.
–A “less competitive Ivy”? The Ivy with the highest admission rate is Cornell and they accept about 14% of applicants which means that 86% of applicants are rejected. Admission to any Ivy college it is extremely competitive.
–I disagree a bit with the above post – I don’t think first generation is a “hook” along the lines of being a recruited athlete, a child of a huge donor etc. And some colleges (there is variation) do not consider a person first generation if a parent has set foot in college.
I agree with @happy1 . The school in question doesn’t really matter. Most colleges consider a parent having “some” college as being educated at a higher educational institution. It should have no bearing on your application, to be honest. I highly doubt you will be seen as a legacy if your parent didn’t graduate though. Legacy at any Ivy school doesn’t have the advantage it used to have.