<p>I'd love to get parents' opinion on this issue. My husband and I both
attended an Ivy that uses the common application. The application asks
where parents attended but does not ask about other realatives. My
DD's grandfather and great-grandfather (along with other sorted relatives)
also graduated from this institution. Do you think we should make any attempt to convey this extended legacy to admissions? And if so, how?
Cover letter with application? My husband and I write or call admissions?
Call or write alumni affairs? DD is aplying ED. Thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>Often schools only care about parents as legacies, not any other relatives or preceeding generations. I suppose if one's family were responsible over the generations for significant donations to the school, it would be worth calling them to drop a hint that Child was going to apply, but I think otherwise they only look at parental legacy status.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree with Mootmom. The child already has double parent legacy; it probably wouldn't matter much to add more.</p>
<p>My S's no. 1 school was the same ivy his grandfather went to (legacy didn't do me any good because they weren't taking women then:( ). They specifically said that they counted parents only, so we didn't put it on the app at all.</p>
<p>the CommonApp has a space for additional information. I'd mention it there.</p>
<p>My wife's family has a "deep" relationship with Yale, being a direct descendent of Rev. Abraham Pierson, Jr., the first president of Yale. Somehow I don't think that tidbit would have gotten our son's foot in the door.</p>
<p>Mootmom is correct.</p>
<p>All,</p>
<p>That may be true now but back when I was applying to college . . . too long ago now, one of the questions on the application was do you have any relatives that attended school X. I listed every one of my aunt, uncles, etc. that attended each of the schools to which I applied. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do.</p>
<p>Today I think it is important but I would not know how to convey that information. Further, because all the schools have come under such scrutiny about their admissions policies they may be trying to minimize the legacy benefit . . . though at many schools you still have a much better chance of getting in if you are a legacy.</p>
<p>If the more distant relativea have given any noticeable amount of money, they are certainly a selling point for your child; even if they are not monetarily significant, I would mentioned them in available space or some sort of short supplemental sheet. It can't hurt, and the longer a legacy is the more likelihood in the school's collective mind, I think, of useful donations at some future date. And isn't that what legacies are really all about?</p>
<p>My mother always donates a small sum to Princeton in memory of a relative who was class of '75......1775......We laugh and say that if our son did apply, we'd put it on there somewhere......just for fun.</p>
<p>Whem Michelle Hernandez posted on a CC thread here, a student wanted to know if she would be at an advantage hacving both of her parents attend Dartmouth being a "double legacy"</p>
<p>Her Response:</p>
<p>Suze -- technically you don't get extra credit for having both parents graduate from Dartmouth or just one, but still sometimes the admissions office has a soft spot for double legacies.</p>
<p>Post # 55</p>
<p>Penn counts grandparents for legacy status.</p>
<p>Real legacy (spelled m o n e y) will not need to be revealed.</p>
<p>Actually unless the money is in the you get your name on something category the legacy may not be known to admissions. If your family has a history of medium-sized or small but consistent donations you should contact your development representative....very very tactfully.</p>
<p>Development doesn't care about small contributions, they care about your name on something. Development is all about 7 figures and up.</p>
<p>bandit - where do you get your information?</p>
<p>Different schools (including different Ivy's) have different legacy policies. The most typical is to count just parents, but some count grandparents, aunts, uncles and/or siblings too. You should find out what the policy is at the particular school your D is applying to. The alumni office or admissions office can probably tell you if you call them and ask - you could also ask whether it would be worthwhile to find a way to let the school know about the additional legacies. </p>
<p>My S applied last year to an Ivy that both my father and I attended - a school that uses the common application and that has a "parent only" legacy policy. But I was told that when a parent is listed as a legacy on the application, they do check to see if the legacy goes back further generations - i.e., when my S listed me as a legacy, they would check my records and see that my father also went there. So they said I didn't need to (and shouldn't) do anything further beyond having S list me on the application. I have no idea whether the fact that my father is also an alum had any impact, but S was admitted, so I didn't ask any more questions.</p>
<p>Some schools, like UPenn, included all relatives. Others, like Harvard, only wanted UG alumni (not grad sch). Many supplemental essays asked "Why us?" and that seemed a good place to mention the personal connection. During an interview would be another opportunity</p>
<p>Legacy is different from developmental candidates. Most schools give a small tip to legacies. Developmental candidates may or maynot be legacies, but they have the money to significantly impact the schools endowment. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.harvard60.org/endow.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.harvard60.org/endow.html</a>
[quote]
Harvard bans reporters from its development office on the third and fourth floors of University Place in Cambridge. But sources say that the cubicles there contain a different sort of treasure: a two-inch-high printout, updated weekly, listing prospective donors with a coded rating based on giving capacity. </p>
<p>These ratings are far more than guesswork. Harvard has long boasted the most sophisticated fund-raising operation in higher education. In 1919, embarking on a $15.25 million campaign, it became the first university to hire professional fund-raisers. </p>
<p>.....................</p>
<p>Last year, Harvard spent $35 million on fund-raising - and raised $427 million. The development office has 250 employees, aided by 4,000 alumni volunteers. </p>
<p>Identifying prospects is the first step. Some alumni draw Harvard's attention by reporting high incomes on the five-year reunion surveys, or boasting of lavish lifestyles in their class reports. Other alumni are ''rated'' by classmates. </p>
<p>''If I see a proxy statement or a prospectus involving a Harvard graduate, I send it to the development office,'' says Ernest Monrad, an alumnus and Boston money manager who has endowed two Harvard chairs. ''If a fellow just got a $5 million bonus and he says he can't afford a $10,000 gift, you can say, `Come on!''' </p>
<p>Harvard's researchers double-check the ratings, using public and commercial databases on everything from real estate holdings to yacht ownership. The office's fourth-floor library holds 10,000 volumes, including Harvard class reports dating back to 1880. Social registers dating to 1960 are stored at another location. </p>
<p>Most donors are alumni, but fund-raising researchers also look for prospects with any Harvard connection. Katherine Loker, who endowed the new freshman dining commons and recently gave $17 million to renovate the libraries, is the widow of an alumnus.
[/quote]
More in the article......
Duke has a reputation for courting developmental candidates regardless of academic capability. Look at what their endowment has done in the last 10 years.</p>
<p>Thank you for your thoughtful replies. I think Garland gave me the best reality check. With a double parent legacy, the grandparents aren't going to make or break the deal. Doesn't really seem necessary to mention it.</p>
<p>BTW, another datapoint. The Yale application asks about grandparents. So, it really looks like it depends upon the school.</p>
<p>Worth a mention if the grandparents are substantial givers or famous in their field or well known philanthropists; ie high giving potential. </p>
<p>I'd put substantial givers at several five figure donations and above. Five figure givers are the beloved of development offices.</p>