<p>I'm really interested in Northwestern. My family has a pretty rich tradition there. However, neither of my parents went there. I know there's a space on the common app where you can list legacies, but is it restricted to just parents/siblings? (none of my siblings attend)</p>
<p>I've got 2 grandparents, an aunt, a cousin, and FOUR great-grandparents that attended.</p>
<p>So is it acceptable to list any of these? If so which ones? Or would it seem like I'm going too far? I'm just interested in having a better chance.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Do you have any sources that support you? Thanks</p>
<p>Typically only parents and grandparents matter for legacy preference but if there is room you can add your aunt and cousin. As admissions to the top schools becomes more competitive, legacy preference and donations matter less and less. Yale recently announced that among legacy applicants with parents in the highest category of alumni giving (> $25,000/year reliably over 5+ years), the admission rate has dropped to below 50%. Before you state that this rate is huge compared to the overall 7.5% admit rate, recognize that kids in this demographic who are not legacies (perhaps parents went to another top-20 school) are much more successful at admissions than the average applicant.</p>