<p>Hi guys i've a question that i'm hoping some of you may answer. I just found out that my grandfather's uncle (he's still alive if you are wondering) attended Chicago 1948 - 1950 and got his masters in physics. Does this make me legacy or is the relationship just too far off? Just curious to know and not really an admissions questions. (but it would be helpful in admissions right :) )</p>
<p>Can't remember where I heard/read this (maybe on CC), but I think that legacy matters at UChicago, only to the extent that your legacy-connection is revealed through your Why Chicago Essay demonstrating your long-standing knowledge of (for example, "Ever since I was a little boy/girl, I heard stories from Grandpa's uncle about....") and passion for the school.</p>
<p>Chicago does not favor or reserve spots in a class for legacies. If you search the admissions blog from last year you will see comments from Libby Pearson.
However, being a legacy may help you understand the University a bit better than someone with no family history there.</p>
<p>The only way legacy could really count from an admissions perspective was if somebody in your family was a big donor. The legacy kids I know could have gotten into the school with or without the bump from the family.</p>
<p>I don't think your grandfather's uncle is going to help get you in, but, as other posters have mentioned, it's definitely worth talking to him! The school has changed a lot over the past 60 years, but I'm sure he has a lot to tell you.</p>
<p>Legacy used to help. It saved us the application fee when my D applied 4 years ago, and the $60 bucks saved did not hurt. :)</p>
<p>Other than that, it does not matter at U. Chi.</p>
<p>But this "legacy" connection is too distant anyway.</p>
<p>The fee is still waved--I forgot about that!</p>
<p>I don't know much about legacies since I can't remember what was said to me three years ago but there was something similiar posted on another thread and here was an interesting response: </p>
<p>"At the admission's open house last spring, Ted O' Neill responded that if two candiadates have equal credentials , a legacy would have an advantage over a non legacy." -Post by Toshima in the "How much does having a parent who works at the U of C help?" thread.</p>
<p>A few years ago an article ran about how UChicago was one of the few elite school's where having a legacy connection made you less likely to go there, most other things equal. They do not care if your parent attended unless they are a mega-donor.</p>
<p>Not true. It was mentioned at the open houses last spring that all things the same, a legacy would get the nod over a non-legacy. Of course right from Chicago's website:
"Many of the College’s strongest candidates are the children of University alumni. That’s why the University waives the application fee for children of alumni seeking admission to the College. A Legacy Luncheon during Parents Weekend brings alumni and their student children together to celebrate keeping Chicago in the family."
Some schools such as ND reserve spots,25% in the case of ND, for legacies. Notre Dame's entering classes must be 25% legacy. Per libby Chicago does not do this, but that is all she said in regards to legacies.</p>
<p>Two quotes from the Chicago Maroon article last Spring regarding this matter:
"The University has no official policy on the children of alumni, said Ted O’Neill, dean of Admissions"
"we do not ignore the fact that a student has a connection to the University that may be meaningful,” O’Neill said in an e-mail interview. “Of course, the meaning has to be conveyed in the kind of application a prospective student writes.”
IMO that is probably stated best at the open house, two equally qualified applicants and not enough spots for both the nod goes to the legacy. However, for applicants to be both considered their applications would have to indicate a sincere interest in the school and a great application. I don't believe Chicago is going to lower their standards or grant admissions to someone who feels entitled to it. But that is just my opinion.</p>
<p>I don't think a lot of legacy kids would be happy here, and that's probably why legacies don't get that much of a consideration. Unless they inherit the intense academic gene from their parents, along with the U of C stamp. I remember an alum wrote in to the alumni magazine, excoriating the U of C for its legacy recruitment efforts, because his D decided to go with Northwestern instead.</p>
<p>I was told that more is expected from an application of a legacy student because that student should be quite familiar with the University. If that is not conveyed, then being a legacy can hurt. I know of a sound double legacy (mom & dad) applicant who was recently rejected. The applicant listed the relationship, but did not expound on it in the application.</p>
<p>idad-- I think that you are right, Libby once said that they expect legacies to be somewhat more informed than the average applicant. </p>
<p>I can see legacies being attracted to other schools. Part of that may be the family culture in a U of C alum household. I think there's less rah rah alma mater banter around the house than say, an ivy or big ten household. It's generally a quieter, less overt attitude.</p>
<p>It's funny: None of the Chicago alumns I know have had their college-age kids go to Chicago. I don't know THAT many of them, but enough so that maybe it's something to notice. And I don't think any of my kids' friends' parents went there for college. On the other hand, someone posted a few days ago that her parents met in such-and-such a building there, so there must be SOME legacies around.</p>
<p>You'd think that maybe Chicago would push legacy admissions as a way to (a) attract more applicants and (b) establish better alumni relations -- two goals it clearly has. Or maybe that's just not the Chicago way. In any event, it's nothing like the situation with my alma mater, where EVERYONE wants to send their kids there, and then they complain bitterly when the kids aren't accepted (or brag about it in 50 annoying ways when they are).</p>
<p>JHS, my parents' alma mater is very much the same way, though I expressed an active dislike of their school.</p>
<p>I mean, the worst thing in my mind would be a student who was pulled into U of C life and culture by influencing factors outside his or her own realm. I'm very, VERY grateful that my parents didn't make noises when I expressed my dislike of their school-- it's a great school that is very clear in its favoring legacies-- and I'm sure I would have been successful there had I applied, been admitted, and decided to attend. I just knew that I liked a lot of schools-- including my in-state safety-- a lot more than I did their alma mater. (My parents also think that their alma mater has changed considerably since they attended-- 30 years ago, it was a little bit more like the U of C is today, and now, it's a little too high-gloss even for them). </p>
<p>Chicago isn't a crowd pleaser, and I think alumni know that. Despite all my enthusiasm for this school and my epic posts on these boards, I'm not recommending it to family friends whose children are currently high school juniors for probably the same reasons alumni don't always recommend it to their children.</p>
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I can see legacies being attracted to other schools. Part of that may be the family culture in a U of C alum household. I think there's less rah rah alma mater banter around the house than say, an ivy or big ten household. It's generally a quieter, less overt attitude.
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<p>When my kids were born they were put into U of C baby clothes, my oldest still has the U of C bib he wore as a baby. U of C t-shirts have always made up the bulk of their wardrobes. They could also recite my favorite U of C cheer (see below) by age 5. However, I also told them that they were/are free to go to any university they choose, ...but I was only paying for Chicago. </p>
<p>The cheer:</p>
<p>Themistocles, Thucydides,
The Peloponnesian War,
X squared, Y squared,
H2SO4.
Who for? What for?
Who we gonna yell for?
GO, MAROONS!</p>