<p>Would you still get the same advantage in admissions because you're a "legacy?"</p>
<p>Or would you not be counted as a legacy because your "legacy mom" is no longer alive?</p>
<p>Legacy is granted based on where the parents went to school, not on whether they are still alive. For legacy purposes a dead parent counts just as much.</p>
<p>Wow, only on CC would you see a question like this.</p>
<p>Does this mean that you are considering a fellow applicant's mother in order to ruin their legacy status? :P</p>
<p>^Lol. xD</p>
<p>Seriously, though, this question is disturbing.</p>
<p>The amount that the legacy parent donated to the school is probably more important than whether the parent is still alive, I don't think alive/dead makes much of a difference.</p>
<p>I'd say a dead legacy parent is better, since the applicant can write an essay about how his/her poor dead mother couldn't fulfill her education from a world-class institution such as Yale.</p>
<p>I'm not a serial killer, I was just wondering, ok.</p>
<p>Because it seems like if colleges accept an applicant of a legacy, one of the incentives to admit that applicant would be that the parents would probably continue to donate lots of moolah.</p>
<p>If the parent is not alive, that's not possible.</p>
<p>Colleges have other reasons besides future donations to admit legacy students.</p>
<p>^Out of curiosity, what do you think those reasons are? I'm just wondering because I've never heard any reasons besides the money thing.</p>
<p>While it is true that some primary motivations for accepting legacies is to appease the legacy community and enlarge their endowment, I seriously doubt that the adcoms will go "This applicant's parents died. REJECT!". lol</p>
<p>The legacy students are more likely to stay loyal to the university, they're more likely to be prominent in society (wealthy families), and they are more likely to send their own children to that school. It's also more likely that legacy students will accept the offer of admission. There are definitely other reasons besides money.</p>
<p>If your parent is dead, you may have more of a sentimental reason to go to their alma mater (another plus?).</p>
<p>^Ooh, yes, that could be added to the aforementioned essay.</p>
<p>UM, if your mother IS a legacy don't think killing her will give you a boost in the college admissions process either</p>