<p>1) If your parent attended an undergraduate school, and you decided to apply to that school, you are a legacy. But what if the parent has never contributed a dime to that university. Would that be a negative?</p>
<p>2) If your parent attended graduate school at a particular university, rather than undergraduate school, and you applied as an undergraduate, are you still a legacy?</p>
<p>The answer to both questions is “it depends on the school”. Some schools count graduate schools as a legacy while others do not. Some might look at the donor rolls to see who is actually contributing.</p>
<p>^ And many schools don’t consider legacy at all. You can get an initial idea about the college’s consideration of legacy by looking at their Common Data Set section C7, e.g., compare the treatment by UVA (very important) and UC Berkeley (not considered). </p>
<p>[UVa</a> CDS - C. First-time, First-year Admission](<a href=“http://www.web.virginia.edu/IAAS/data_catalog/institutional/cds/current/admissions.htm]UVa”>http://www.web.virginia.edu/IAAS/data_catalog/institutional/cds/current/admissions.htm)
<a href=“http://cds.berkeley.edu/pdfs/PDF%20wBOOKMARKS%2010-11.pdf[/url]”>http://cds.berkeley.edu/pdfs/PDF%20wBOOKMARKS%2010-11.pdf</a></p>
<p>Legacy isn’t what it used to be. If your kid has a 2200 SAT and valedictorian and they are a legacy, they have an advantage. Top tier schools don’t weight it as much as they used to. Sometimes if you use connections it can be seen negatively. The alums who donate millions of dollars obv need to ensure there kids get accepted. There are few alums that donate such large amounts.</p>
<p>On the app it ask for family relation just put it down it won’t hurt.</p>
<p>While legacy status can make a difference at some schools, it’s really only going to make a big difference if either (1) you’re already a strong applicant; or (2) you’re related to someone who donated a crapload of money (in which case you’re almost certainly going to be admitted).</p>