<p>What's the deal with legacy at Harvard nowadays? I have reasonable stats; ~92 average, upper/mid 700s on SAT/SAT II, nothing special. But I also have 7 legacies at Harvard... Will this do anything for me?</p>
<p>It depends on what the legacies are. If granddad has a chair endowed in his name, yes, it will help (real case at Yale this year). Several consecutive generations will help. Big money for a couple of generations is the most help.</p>
<p>Re: 7 legacies: Be aware that the only connections that count as legacies are parents, and if parents, grandparents, who attended Harvard <em>College</em>. Siblings at Harvard College, or parents who got other degrees at Harvard, do not make you a legacy. Each institution has its own rules about this.</p>
<p>If both your parents, all four of your grandparents, and a great-grandparent went to college at Harvard, that's a very big plus!</p>
<p>I had a 5 generation-</p>
<p>top 8%, 1450/780/770/700
Everything in order (recs, essays)- all pretty good.</p>
<p>Rejected, but not surprised. It can only do so much- don't think it's a sure bet.</p>
<p>Harvard acceptance rate for legacies is almost 40%</p>
<p>The Harvard admissions office internally examined its legacy admit rate a few years ago and compared it to the admit rate of Yale and Princeton legacies (at Harvard). The difference was only a couple of points, not the big difference that you see if you just compare the legacy admit rate to the overall admit rate. In other words, legacies are disproportionately likely to be bright kids with great credentials, and that accounts for most (though not all) of the admit rate difference.</p>
<p>From what I have seen from fellow alum and from seeing what happens in my area, my impression is that legacy counts as a tip factor only when a non wealthy candidate is absolutely outstanding -- great stats, reccs, ECs, interview. Given a choice between a nonlegacy who's excellent (in an admissions group in which most students are outstanding) and a legacy with equivalent excellence, the legacy will get the nod.</p>
<p>It may count for more with legacies who are the offspring of billionaires and major celebrities, but since I don't know people in that category, I can't comment on that.</p>
<p>NSM, do you believe that it hurts legacy applicants (or applicants with siblings currrently enrolled) to not apply EA? It might indicate that the applicant wasn't dedicated enough to the school, and that would negate any advantage that legacy carries.</p>
<p>"NSM, do you believe that it hurts legacy applicants (or applicants with siblings currrently enrolled) to not apply EA?"</p>
<p>I have not heard or seen anything to that effect. What I see is that the admissions pool now is exceptionally strong, and as a result legacies will be rejected who were far more outstanding than their alum parents were.</p>
<p>Wait, does having a grandfather who attended the College make one a legacy, even if one's father did not?</p>
<p>No, legacy means that a parent graduated from Harvard undergrad.</p>
<p>I called the admission people directing because I kept getting answers that I was not a legacy, and I was told my application was flagged as legacy:
Both parents go for graduate. End up teaching there later on.
My sister attends...So no parents went to undergrad and I am still a legacy.</p>