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I missed the fact that the Princeton financial aid form is checking out descendants, not just legacies.
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<p>What is the difference? I always <em>thought</em> that the term legacy when used regarding following in a relative's tracks was a catch phrase rather than terminology with a very specific meaning.</p>
<p>There are specific classes at Princeton and other schools which have established scholarships for descendants of those classes. Thus, the financial aid form asks to find out whether anyone applying is eligible for those scholarships. (One of my D's high school classmates was one of 5 children, all of whom went to P'ton, and all of whom received the scholarship for descendants of some specific class year. ) </p>
<p>As for donation history, the policy varies by school. Stanford counts ALL legacies the same. Some schools take the # of years you donate into account--no matter how small the donation; it's the loyalty factor that counts. At other schools, it's the amount.</p>
<p>Jonri: That makes perfect sense. Thank you.</p>
<p>You know what is fantastic about my parents? They both attended schools that I am applying to, but they havent donated a dime! Yeah even though they both had 4.0's it doesnt mean anything.</p>
<p>In a related matter...if you have one child attending a school and your second child wants to apply there later, would the school look at whether or not the parents have made donations already?</p>
<p>Are you not already "donating" by paying her tuition?</p>
<p>I believe donations are expected after the student graduates, not during their enrollment.</p>
<p>ryan2288: "You know what is fantastic about my parents? They both attended schools that I am applying to, but they havent donated a dime! Yeah even though they both had 4.0's it doesnt mean anything."</p>
<p>This may indeed be the case at the schools you are interested in, but there are some advantages to being a legacy that have nothing to do with parental monetary cointributions. For example, I attended the University of Virginia for my freshman year and then transferred to another school. A couple years ago when my son was applying to colleges, UVa's admissions office informed me that since I attended UVa that my son would be considered with the in-state pool of applicants rather than out-of-state. Similar to your parents, I had straight A's at UVa but have never given them a dime. My son chose not to apply to UVa, but will be applying to law school in a couple years. I do not know if the legacy thing at all affects in-state admission for law school.</p>
<p>I recognize that UVa is not an Ivy League school, but unless I heard it directly from an Ivy League admission's officer then I would not believe that money, and not simply attendance, is how legacies are favored (although not dramatically anyway) in the admissions process.</p>