How much does it influence the admission decision process at Boston College is both parents graduated from BC?
About 2-3 years ago the BC admissions office responded to this question. They said it made a difference, but they offered no specifics.
I have a different view.
BC admissions has to say that legacy can help. They are a business that depends on alumni donating to the school. If they said anything other than “yes”, it would hurt those donations.
Read though past years of legacy discussions in this BC section of CC. You will see some very angry alumni who have given their $100-$500 per year only to have their child not get accepted.
I can imagine if you’ve given a lot of money to the school over the years, it can help.
Some schools are known for legacy. BC is not one of them. If it tries to build a well rounded highly talented diverse incoming freshman class, then influencing decisions just because an applicant has family legacy isn’t going to help with that goal.
Our HS has a lot of applicants to BC each year. Based on the school history, our GC is convinced that legacy does help - a little. He said that he makes sure to emphasize the BC legacy connection in the rec he sends to them. But, legacy does not mean a shoo-in. S18s friend with double legacy was deferred EA this year and his parents were shocked. Hoping he gets in RD but no one can say for sure.
in my D’s Frosh dorm, several students in her hall were off the WL – all were legacy. (Take it for what its worth.)
My take, is that it helps a tiny, tiny bit, but doesn’t make up for a weakness application.
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I am a BC grad. My spouse is a BC grad. Her father is a BC grad. Her brother is a BC grad. Her sister is a BC grad. My aunt & uncle are BC grads. All that means squat unless one of them donated a building. You can’t swing a cat around Eastern MA without hitting a BC grad, so it doesn’t mean much unless your family has been active alumni ($$$).
According to BC’s current website:
That's a relatively conservative definition of "legacy". At many schools, a grandparent or sibling would count.Top schools generally have more well qualified applicants than they can accept. My impression is that legacy status commonly acts as a “tiebreaker”. It can get you in over an equally well qualified non-legacy, but will not make a difference if you are not well qualified.
Anyone who says BC isn’t known as a legacy school / legacy doesn’t really matter is just not informed. It’s not just a coincidence that a huge amount of students are legacies. Also, its not about donating a building-- yea that might help if you have a 2.0 and 1200 sat, but the majority of cases who benefit from being legacies would pool just under that average and it is the little extra that helps them.
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Anyone who says BC isn’t known as a legacy school / legacy doesn’t really matter is just not informed.
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Challenging prevailing sentiment is always healthy and welcome, especially at BC. But as you’re learning there, any attempt to convince others whom you believe are not informed, needs to be accompanied with data to backup your claims. I know I welcome learning if such creditable material is provided.