<p>This seems like a topic that could start an interesting discussion:</p>
<p>What if you had a relative/family member that currently or previously attended a boarding school you were applying to, and for whatever reason left a bad impression on said school? Would this affect your chances of being admitted to this school or similar schools? </p>
<p>Also, what if you got into a school, and everyone expected you to act like your relative/family member (in terms of interests or ability)? Does this happen often?</p>
<p>Lastly, how much does having a legacy (good or bad) REALLY affect your chances of admission?</p>
<p>I could see it affecting your application if your sibling got into trouble and your parents didn’t handle it well with the school. In that case they might turn you down in order to head off further problems with your family. If your sibling flunked out but your parents didn’t fight the decision and worked with the school it probably won’t hurt your application. </p>
<p>Our family left one school under less than ideal circumstances but we all handled things like mature adults and when we reapplied years later we were welcomed back.</p>
<p>Unless this was a highly publicized event your “unlucky circumstances” should not affect your applications to other schools.</p>
<p>I am familiar with an individual who got booted and years later his son very much wanted to attend the same school. The son was accepted and there was no issue. Some faculty still remained from the time the father had the untimely demise. The circumstances involved were never brought up and the father is very much considered a part of the school and the class of which he was a member. He never gave a penny to the Annual Fund for obvious reasons, until of course his son was accepted. Needless to say, his son did much better than his father, in all aspects. When he approached me about all this in the beginning, his dilemma at the time was explaining to his son what had transpired 35 years ago. He was concerned that the school would hold it against him, obviously they didn’t, in fact he said some in Admissions even kind of joked about it. The father was determined to have the apple fall as far away from the tree as humanly possible. So, no negative affects from black sheep members.</p>
<p>As I am not entirely sure what I ate last night for dinner, I am awed (and, quite frankly, somewhat intimidated) by teachers with specific memories of events of 35 years ago.</p>
<p>Bad big brother? Fugittaboutit. My older brother got the boot from a BS. Next year, the same school let me in. Then, it accepted, over a seven year period, my three younger brothers. Three of us (including myself) went on to Harvard. Each student rises and falls (or at least should rise and fall) on his own merits and sins.</p>