<p>How much if any does it help with admissions to have a sibling at the college you are applying? Has anyone had experience with this?</p>
<p>Unfortunately I won't have that experience. Second son would not apply to any colleges that our oldest applied to!</p>
<p>one of my friend's brother goes to MIT...she applied EA last year, got deferred, and was rejected in April. I think having a siblin there would help about the same as having alumni parents?</p>
<p>A senior I know was deferred from Cornell; his sister is a student there. So it wasn't a help at all.</p>
<p>I think it would help if the school is a small one where the faculty knows each student well, and the sibling has done exceptionally well at the university, or contributed a lot. What I'd like to know is if they're hesitant to take another person from the same family because it would decrease their diversity, especially if the family is from an underrepresented area? (e.g. if their only 2 Kentucky students are both from the same family...)</p>
<p>The school my S is at specfically said that only parent alumni mattered, but the school his sister was at, Wesleyan, does take sibling legacy into account, according to "the Gatekeepers". And anecdotally, the feeling there according to my D was that qualified siblings were always accepted. </p>
<p>There's probably no way to generalize about this, as each school has different approaches to the question.</p>
<p>Garland is right. It does depend on the school. In smaller schools where they have the time to ponder these things, they often will not turn down a sibling who applies with equal or stronger qualifications than the one who was admitted. That can be a boon for the second child whose sibling may have been given an academic pass for athletic or other special hook reasons. They do this because it does build the community and increase donations. It does not take a survey to figure out that parents who have two kids graduating from a college are more likely to donate to that school than if kid #2 gets rejected. Also the family will tend to participate more in college events. This helps make the college environment friendlier. Also for some out of the way school, it takes care of the question of whether the kid wants to go there. We know one young man who was rejected ED from Wiliams, ED2 from Bowdoin and who got into Pomona RD. The fact that his sister went there was helpful, his mother said, in that the school knew that the family was well aware of the issues involved in sending a student cross country having gone through the process. A number of kids who do apply to out of the way or unusual programs get cold feet at the last minute and opt to go to more familiar options. The fact that the school was already on the family radar screen make it a more plausible option, and the school knows this. </p>
<p>GW actually encouraged siblings to apply and offers 50% off the tuition while both are in the school, a boon for twins and families with two kids in college together. If fact, former neighbors of ours with two boys two years apart , had the first one take a year off and work , and then took advantage of the plan for the next three years. A nice $60K in savings, plus the kid who took the year off saved about $12K during his year of work. It also consolidated college visit and vacation plans.</p>
<p>I can echo jamimom's comments as far as Davidson is concerned. There are many families who have sent all of their children to Davidson(3 or more). One of my friends here is the last of 5 brothers to attend. I do not know for sure, but I believe the expectation is for siblings who truly want to do to Davidson are expected to apply early decision. Also, I have noticed, anecdotally, that these seem to be 'full freight' paying families. So the idea of family financial donations for many years to come probably is a big part of the equation. A lot of these smaller schools rely on alumni support and a feeling of family on campus.</p>
<p>Thank you again for all the info. I'll let you know in April what happens.</p>