<p>There are two very good schools in which i have relatives who are professors in the areas im interested in. Would this actually play a role in admissions, or not really?</p>
<p>Are the relatives your parents? Then quite possibly.</p>
<p>Are they uncles, cousins or something like that? Then not really.</p>
<p>Why don’t you ask those relatives? If they get to put a word in with admissions they will know. Usually I would say this is not a factor, though.</p>
<p>Depends on the school. My dad was/is a professor at UT-Austin, and it made no difference for me or my son’s chances to get into the University.</p>