A BC Common App question addresses parents and siblings education.
Do you think admissions chance is helped if parent and sibling attended a different Jesuit college from BC (i.e., Georgetown, Holy Cross, etc.)? Or does it only matter if they are direct legacy to BC?
Only if they went to BC would there be a legacy bump.
This is definite:
They are looking for two things they report/advertise: first generation students (whose parents did not graduate from a four year college) and legacy/ family connections to the college. Colleges often report/advertise both statistics.
(At the college I know best, which is not BC, there actually are separate admissions committees for First Generation and Institutional Ties. These are so important to the college as to be worthy of a separate committee!)
These are only possible:
Maybe it also helps put the child’s achievements in context. Achievements by kids from backgrounds with less educated parents may be all the more impressive.
Also, if your sibling attends, admitting you too may mean that you are more likely to attend (improving their odds of a high yield), and also maybe that your family is likely to feel more loyal to the college across future years. The first reason I listed in this paragraph may also mean that the factor you named (a family history of choosing Jesuit schools) may be a plus, because maybe it helps predict you will be more likely to attend, especially if BC is more competitive than the other Jesuit schools your family attended. Hard to predict!
At the college I know best, not separate pools, except the dean’s list, which is small, a fraction of a percent of all admits.
Yes, knowing your sibs went to challenging colleges and got their degrees (or will) can hint your family takes education seriously and has the right expectations for you.
This isn’t measurable. Just a hint within your app. BC may also see the record with other Jesuit schools as suggesting your faith basis and commitment to the Jesuit education principles.
But, you need to ensure your app matches BC, what they offer, their strengths and what they want int he class. Try to make sure that, after reading yours, they don’t wonder if you really prefer some other Jesuit school.
This is different than the hunt for first gen kids.
We had some concerns about this when my son applied to BC as both his parents and his older brother had graduated from Georgetown. We were concerned that it might send a message that he had a “built in” preference for Georgetown and, with yield concerns, BC might choose to reject or waitlist him. My son’s high school counselor gave the same advice as @lookingforward , that is - make sure your application makes the case for attending BC specifically. It certainly impacted which BC essay he chose to write on in order to be able to be as granular as possible in this regard. My son was admitted to BC.
It won’t help. It it certainly won’t hurt. It may help if you have an application that reflects the Jesuit ethos that values both education and service.
The vast vast majority have no connection. So it’s helps if you have a connection combined with the academic profile. However it’s not like they are looking for reasons to reject someone with a great application for various reasons.
The only caveat. Many people have their impressions based on experiences as recently as five years ago at many colleges. The competitive environment has ramped up. BC as selective as they have been for years has gone into new territory in the recent past.
Good luck.