So we can assume the ED acceptance rate for legacies is between 30-40%. However, the stats posted on CC are skewed to the top, highest achieving high school students. Do you think that people here make up the “30-40%” while non CCers make up the other, rejected people?
In other words, we see on here that legacies have high stats, but how does the typical CC-legacy kid compare to the average high school-legacy kid? And would the average high-school-legacy make up more of the rejections than the CC-legacies?
After going through the process myself, it is obvious that CC underrepresented and even misidentifies what admissions finds important. Look at the ED thread from last year and you find less than 30-40% legacy posters getting accepted. Perhaps not even 20%…
There was a publication in DP which said that legacy is playing less important role in Penn admission. It ranks lower than other hooks, like URM, first generation etc.
@poptarts4hire “it is obvious that CC underrepresented and even misidentifies what admissions finds important. Look at the ED thread from last year and you find less than 30-40% legacy posters getting accepted. Perhaps not even 20%…”
Can you be more specific about what you think admissions finds important vs. what is identified on cc:?
With regard to the ED stats thread, you have to keep in mind that it is far from a statistically valid sample. However, it would not be surprising to me that the cc: admit rate for legacy applicants is lower than the ED rate overall, because the overall rate includes athletes and other strongly hooked candidates.
I think it is accurate to say that legacy is a small bump, but not enough to help a student with weak stats and ECs gain admission in most cases. Given the strength of the applicant pool, it is more likely to help a student with strong ECs and stats, but who has no clear hook.
@Much2learn To elaborate, the site only gives stats such as classes, test scores, GPA, etc. You don’t see the student the same way that admissions does. Without essays and rec letters it is incredibly hard to chance students for top schools unless they obviously lack academic rigor, ECs, or are just stand out students with amazing accomplishments for their age. Anything else is just subjective. For this reason CC doesn’t do a good job at representing the full picture of an applicant.
Legacies can have a little up when they both qualify academically and know the school, how it works, and can show their match. If they don’t qualify or just put out an ordinary app/supp, no advantage. And ECs are about more than titles in hs.
It also depends on the kind of legacy you have. For example if your great grandfather went to Penn and then every family member since then too, and you come from a well-off family that gives a lot to Penn and are very involved you will have much higher legacy benefit than a person whose parent graduated from Penn and has not been very involved as an alumnus/a or has not donated consistently a decent amount. Not all legacies are looked at the same way.
It’s still a crap shoot in my opinion. My son applied ED last year with 3.9 GPA UW, 4.8W, 2290 SAT, 3 season varsity sport with captain, several leadership positions, 3 jobs… My husband and I both went to Penn, have been alumni interviewers for 20+ years, donate consistently and are involved with our alumni chapter. Son was deferred and then rejected. It hurt a lot. We talked to someone in alumni relations and learned about the tri-state area issue. We also learned that consistent giving doesn’t matter that much. It’s only a conversation with admissions if it’s a million plus donation. It worked out in the end and my son is doing extremely well where he ended up, so it’s ok. We won’t be doing any more interviewing and donating money. Can you tell I’m bitter?! Seriously though, there are just too many overqualified kids out there and the elite schools can’t accept everyone.
@whizmom That’s awful.I’m sure it felt like a slap in the face even though it wasn’t personal. (assuming admissions has no idea who you are I think Penn loses a lot of interviewers every year when this happens. Obviously your son was a strong candidate, regardless of legacy. I think they just have too many northeast legacies. Glad to hear your son is doing well.
@whizmom i feel you. it is true that the competition amongst kids from the tri-state area is beyond brutal. there are simply too many qualified applicants and especially legacies. i do not blame you for stopping your donations and interviews, the rejection must have stung a lot. I think the amount and consistency of giving matters (but only if it is a huge amount) as well as the connections with the admissions committee and also the higher ups in the alumni community play a big role. i know a person who was a fourth generation Penn student, from a pretty wealthy family in the tri-state area, who got in with a 1900 SAT, decent but not perfect grades and nothing else spectacular. But obviously that family is beyond well-connected within the Penn community.