So in the DP, Rapelye says “other familial relationships, such as that of University grandparents and siblings, are also noted but not added to the statistics in the Princeton Profiles. “We are aware of a sibling on campus or a sibling who has gone to Princeton,” Rapelye said. “But the sibling who is applying needs to be able to stand on their own.””
Which implies that siblings do give a slight boost (makes sense given yields).
However, there’s no section on the Princeton Supplement that would allow an applicant to indicate this information.
In other CC threads, it appears that Princeton used to ask this question in the supplement.
@tigertiger66, my D just went through the application process and will start Princeton in September as a member of the class of '20. I just pulled out a printed copy of her CA as well as the letter that Dean Rapelye sent to me (and all alumni) in late November after she submitted her SCEA app.
On the CA (I believe the main section) there is a question about siblings and education level. My S is still in HS so I don’t know if the dropdown menu choice of “some college” will bring up a place to enter that a sibling goes to Princeton. Also, I believe the Princeton supplement directly asks if the applicant has relatives who work at/attended Princeton.
In the letter to alumni there is a question - How can my student indicate our family’s connection with Princeton? The relevant part of the answer reads “In addition, if other members of your family attended Princeton, as undergraduate or graduate students, we welcome this information in one of two ways. Applicants had the opportunity to list other relatives on the Common Application, or they mail email this information of the Office of Admissions at [email address].”
I absolutely think that they do look at the relevant section … because how else would they have complied the list they used to send the letter?
Ah ok. Yeah I was wondering because I saw that the supplement did not have a section for this. It only asked if a relative worked at Princeton not went to Princeton.
For my college, no official stats of sibling legacies have ever been published in the +25 yrs as an alum volunteer. However, I assume that if the applicant were on the fence, the fact that another sib is already enrolled could either be a plus or minus – here’s what I mean. Let’s say the older sib was admitted from a previously unknown school, i.e. the admit factors were a little hazy but still enough to offer admit. Older sib goes to PTon and is failing miserably.
Younger sib’s transcript/scores/rest of file – looks the same. PTon may not be as willing to take a 2nd chance – because indications are that the HS preparation isn’t enough, despite high grades. The opposite is true too. Maybe older sib is performing beyond all expectations. This will then give confidence to the veracity of younger sib’s HS achievements
Is it fair? Not really. But sometimes the committee members are looking for any sort of confirmatory info to decide tough cases.
In previous iterations of the Common App (and I assume that the one that will come out for this coming year), in the “Family” section, it asks about siblings. If you say a sibling has attended or graduated from college, the drop down menu will ask you which college. That’s where you put down Princeton. If you’re concerned, you could mention it in additional info or possibly weave it into an essay.
T26E4, while you might be right about the “iffy” school hypothesis, based on conversations I have had, in general I don’t think that the grades of a sibling currently at Princeton would impact an applicant negatively. They don’t really have time to look at that factor, and having a sibling is not enough of a push to bother. Now, if someone in the admissions office actively knows and likes/dislikes the sibling, that of course could subconsciously impact the vote of that admissions officer.
What I’m referring to is a particular reader’s knowledge of a previously unknown HS. I’m sure they take best guesses and sometimes admit a kid from a previously unknown HS. That kid does poorly at PTon despite otherwise stellar credentials. It might cause the admissions reader to wonder if that student’s sibling, who applies 2 years later, with the same stats – is worth risking admitting or not. Of course, this is only speculation…
The question about family attending Princeton is on the main application in the last section “Family”. The questions ask if any of the family who attend/ attended were a “parent, step-parent, sibling, aunt, cousin or grandparent?”