<p>I'm a rising undergrad sophomore and my brother is a senior in high school. With top 5 % of his class, 2100 SAT, and decent-good ECs, does being a legacy almost guarantee him admission?</p>
<p>It's no secret that the admit rates for legacies are higher than for non-legacy applicants, but being a legacy does not guarantee admission, even with decent stats. However, it definitely helps, and should guarantee him a good look so he doesn't get lost in the hoards of other applicants with similar stats. Good luck :)</p>
<p>and just so that i'm certain, is he still considered a legacy applicant if i'm still enrolled as an undergraduate?</p>
<p>Might not be legacy exactly but I think he might still be classified in a comparable category.</p>
<p>bump. (10 char)</p>
<p>At many schools, particularly at the Ivies, and probably at Duke as well, legacy only helps if you apply ED. They want you to show committment to the school before they give you the slight advantage that legacies receive.</p>
<p>By the way there are legacies, and then there are LEGACIES. Those whose family are alums and have donated megabucks (I'm talking 6-7 figures minimum) are in a different category than your average legacy, and will receive a different level of advantage. That's the way it works.
But nobody is a guaranteed admission to any of these schools just because their parents went there.</p>
<p>It definitely helps being a legacy at Duke. The acceptance rate for legacies traditionally hovers around 50%, while it's around 20% for the rest of the applicant field. However, some of this discrepancy can be attributed to legacies being more qualified applicants, but I can't believe that is the sole reason. And, of course, the more money your family has donated, the more likely it will affect admissions. I don't think legacy status only helps ED admissions - it helps either way. I'd say your brother has a very good chance to get in. I know many sibling pairs at Duke - Duke loves them. It's hard to exactly quantify the effect, but if your brother gives the impression that he really wants to go to Duke to the admissions staff, they like to have families with many Duke alumni since they are more likely to donate.</p>