Does legacy status help at all in UChicago admissions?
They say no.
It is considered but they don’t really say how much of a difference it makes. They did send a letter acknowledging legacy status post app and multiple letters after acceptance. http://uchicagoadmissions.■■■■■■■■■■/post/25191304905/the-questions-just-keep-rolling-in-dont-forget
Yes
So legacy status DOES help? Our D3 would be legacy. I really got the impression from the Grandma Harriet example (which I had read a few months ago) that legacy wasn’t a big deal to them. We’ve heard that from other alums as well, but then we also know fellow students whose kids have been admitted.
Here’s a recent thread that discusses the topic in more detail: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1886486-speculation-on-how-legacy-works-at-uchicago-p1.html
Based on the lengthy discussion on Chicago’s admit policy changes, it looks like legacies that are competitive stats wize i.e. in the 40th to 60th percentile range and full pay will have a distinct advantage specially if they apply ED1/ED2.
VLP sure I believe that - but isn’t that true of ANYONE who is in that range of stats and income and applies ED?
@Mamelot Nope, not at the super selective schools. And #5 the applicant is not a URM. The rules are much more forgiving for an URM.
I know of several students who were better than the 75th percentile who got rejected from some of these schools including Chicago. Some with perfect stats.
We do too VLP and we also know a near perfect sat legacy who was rejected from Yale. It’s crazy at the top (and pretty sure she had no hook other than that).
What I’m wondering is whether you believe that legacy at UChicago gives a 50th-75th percentile applicant with a national merit designation and a knack for writing good essays an edge over those tippy-tippy tops who are not legacies. In D3’s case it’s a good fit but she prefers EA to one of the ED’s so she won’t have an edge there. Also we were grad school not undergrad so wondering if that’s still a legacy. Heck in our day there really wasn’t much of an undergraduate program!
Just afraid she’ll get deferred unless her stats are above the 75th. Especially given that there is an EDII.
@Mamelot I do know of a bunch of kids who claimed legacy status because their parents went to grad school at UChicago and they got in, so I think grad school legacy did help them but they were also competitive applicants.
I do think a competitive legacy applicant is looked at favorably at Chicago. Legacy may not help a weak applicant gain admission, but in my opinion, it certainly gives competitive applicants an edge, even if it is a small edge. Given the uncertainty of admission at other peer schools schools such a legacy student may find his/her chances better at UChicago
Having said that, I am not sure how not applying ED will affect a legacy student’s chances. That is a new wrinkle this year, so we don’t have any data. Personally I don’t think EA is a very good option for UChicago anymore, but I am speculating without any real data here. In fact I am inclined to think that they will sunset it within a few years
VLP I was wondering the same thing about EA being discontinued. It seems awkward to offer it still - like an experiment. I do feel a bit better given your insight w/r/t legacy.
Well, it’ll be an interesting application process. Thanks for all your help!
I think it’s highly unlikely that Chicago differentiates among applicants based on whether their SAT scores are above or below the 75 percentile for matriculants (800 CR/790 M). One multiple choice question on a test that maxes out at Algebra 2 just isn’t useful for sorting applicants of this caliber. The most competitive kids stand out in a way that’s more qualitative. Some of that comes down to accomplishments or life experiences. But if you don’t have anything like that going for you, it really come down to crafting an interesting/appealing/memorable application that leads adcoms to think “this is the kind of kid we want” and/or “that kid will love it here.” And talk’s cheap, so show – don’t tell. The Uncommon Essays are there to give them a sense of how applicants’ minds work.
Where legacy fits in is benefit of the doubt re fit/likelihood of accepting the offer (and having a parent who raised you to be the kind of person who would thrive at Chicago).
@Mamelot Ask your daughter to focus on her essays. Chicago seems to care a lot about them. Good luck!!