<p>This question is intended for current or former Princeton students.</p>
<p>What is the general consensus about legacies at Princeton? Are legacies looked down upon in any way, seeing as being a legacy can get an applicant a second look by the admissions committee?</p>
<p>Basically, is there ever any grumbling along the lines of </p>
<p>"So-and-so is a complete fool and probably don't even deserve to be here, just because he/she is a legacy..." ?</p>
<p>Yes. This is true at all ivy league schools. You will make no friends.</p>
<p>People might wonder on occasion, but once you're in, no one really cares how you got here.</p>
<p>In my time here, this has briefly passed my mind a total of one time.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that now, unlike generations past, legacies are more than qualified to attend Princeton. In general, the children of alumni are extremely well- qualified and the legacy "boost" is helpful only in that it makes sure they are granted a second or third look out of the pool of extremely well-qualified applicants. Only 30% of legacy applicants get in- my guess would be that more than 30% of them are qualified to attend. </p>
<p>I am an alum and my D is a current freshman. While I think the legacy "boost" helped to make sure she wasn't lost in the shuffle, the fact that she was accepted at other Ivies tells me that she was more than qualified for the spot she now holds.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that now, unlike generations past, accepted legacies are more than qualified to attend Princeton. In general, the children of alumni are extremely well- qualified and the legacy "boost" is helpful only in that it makes sure they are granted a second or third look out of the pool of extremely well-qualified applicants. Only 30% of legacy applicants get in- my guess would be that more than 30% of them are qualified to attend. </p>
<p>I am an alum and my D is a current freshman. While I think the legacy "boost" helped to make sure she wasn't lost in the shuffle, the fact that she was accepted at other Ivies tells me that she was more than qualified for the spot she now holds.</p>
<p>Sorry for the double post. To answer the original question- 30 years ago, when I was a student, there were some obvious " legacy kids"- usually those with big bucks and big names. But I can't recall that anyone wondered about their qualifications. </p>
<p>Currently, my daughter has reported that no one ever questions her ability to be there because of legacy status. I don't think that one's legacy status is much talked about. It's just not that big a deal. </p>
<p>I also think that everyone at Princeton ( and the other Ivies and many other schools) at some point wonders "did the admissions office make a mistake by letting me in? Particularly when they discover that the work is really really hard. And that the stellar GPA is no longer a given. A legacy wonders "Did I only get in because of mom or dad?" </p>
<p>The answer to both questions is NO.</p>
<p>Legacy kids are, on average, even more qualified to get in because they tend to come from families that emphasize education, have money to send the kids to good schools, etc.</p>
<p>For the most part, people here think it's cool when they find out you're a legacy.</p>
<p>if you're smart, you dont advertise it. not that it matters much anyway socially, but if you do excessively advertise it you only doing yourself a disservice. just like if my bro's friends know that he is legacy it is like an after thought. and generally legacy kids keep a low profile about being a legacy. b/c what does it matter anyway? it matters most to the parent or grandparent that went there orignally, but thats it. legacy kids are generally really well qualified b/c of good genes/educational values etc (speaking completely dispassionately, here) so no one is going to take offense too badly to your admission</p>
<p>I think the legacies worry about it more than anyone else. Once in, it is not like it is going to come up day to day.</p>