What are my chances? Im related to Elihu Yale

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hi,
I was wondering if somebody could give me my super stretch chances for being admitted here. I am related to Elihu Yale (he is my 10th great-grandfather). The University was named after him back in 1718. Do you recommend me even applying with these stats?</p>

<p>GPA: 4.59 on 5 scale
ACT: 30
played football and lacrosse all 4 years of high school
Vice President of 2 school clubs
oldest of 4 (divorced parents)
I have 2 jobs and own, manage and operate a car window tinting business </p>

<p>Does being a legacy here at this extremely presitgious school have any impact on the admissions decisions? I know I am at the extreme low of the averages stats for acceptance but would it even be worth the $75 to apply? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks</p>

2

<p>The reality is, that distant a connection may not account for much, unless there is something contractual that encourages the school to look for these connections. I highly doubt that. You still need to be a compelling candidate, on your own, as do those with recent legacy ties.</p>

<p>You need to know “what Yale looks for.” If you did, I don’t think you would have written post 1 as you did.</p>

3

<p>alicejohnson and lookingforward I think your ■■■■■ sensors need an update.</p>

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<p>And I’m related to Jeremiah Dummer. How dare you steal the naming rights!</p>

5

<p>

Agree with Nihilus. Someone has too much time on their hands.</p>

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<p>Me? Ha. We’ve had several posters (including some suspiciously new ones) ask this sort of question lately. The answer was for everyone. Jump on OP, be my guest. :slight_smile: Clearly, he doesn’t know what Yale looks for.</p>

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<p>Wow i didnt know people got this intense on here. No need to be a chach lookingforward. I was simply asking to see if anyone could drop some knowledge on past experiences with similar situations. Yes, my last name is Yale and I have proof of relation to Elihu.</p>

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<p>It’s a blog not a reliable site. Mostly filled with bitter parents and students. It’s fun to read but not a resource at all.</p>

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<p>1370578- I am serious. You still need to be a compelling candidate and I do believe that you should look hard at “What Yale Looks for.”</p>

<p>There is a lot of context on CC. </p>

<p>Your first step needs to be a good look at Yale’s web info. They are one of the schools with some solid talk about what they like in applicants.</p>

10

<p>I have a young neighbor who is a descendant of another person important in Yale history. His last name isn’t the same, but his middle name is the same.</p>

<p>He wrote about it on his application…and did not get in.</p>

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<p>10th great grandfather is probably akin to being .003% American Indian. Not gonna get you far.</p>

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<p>For what it’s worth, this post didn’t seem all that trolly to me. I think the very distant relationship to Yale would be an amusing application element, and it certainly won’t hurt you, but I don’t think it would help very much. Stats aren’t great. Honestly, the thing on your list that will help you the most is the car window tinting business.</p>

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<p>I would leverage it in an essay just to make yourself stand out, but don’t hold your breath.</p>

14

<p>Agree with the business. The risk in putting too much weight on the ancestry is that they may question your judgment, exactly as some did here. Standing out is best when it’s in a way adcoms feel is rock solid.</p>

<p>If you had made yourself some expert on Elihu, if you could point to ways the relationship had inspired you to do something of value to adcoms, that’s different. Just hanging on the link is passive.</p>

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<p>I was wondering how many people could make this claim . . . or, more generally, for any given person who was born in 1648, what is the distribution in the number of living descendants today?</p>

<p>In pursuit of this question, I came upon the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 63, at the following link:
[Yale</a>, Elihu (DNB00) - Wikisource, the free online library](<a href=“http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Yale,_Elihu_(DNB00)]Yale”>Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Yale, Elihu - Wikisource, the free online library)</p>

<p>The entry covers Elihu Yale, 1648-1721, who certainly appears to be the man for whom Yale was named.</p>

<p>Interestingly, it says

</p>

<p>There is some indication that Elihu Yale had a mistress, and he (or she) might have given the last name Yale to her sons.</p>

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<p>Of course, the source could also be wrong. Ancestry.com seems to have a conflicting family tree.</p>

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<p>I think it would be interesting to consider “what constitutes proof” in historical contexts. That could be the topic of a great essay, with “Elihu Yale” thrown in.</p>

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<p>There is a site with some interesting commentary on an old biography of Elihu Yale, namely Hiram Bingham’s 1939 book “Elihu Yale - The American Nabob of Queen Square.”
[Amardeep</a> Singh: Guest Post by Narayan: More on Madras, Elihu Yale, Hiram Bingham](<a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2009/07/guest-post-by-narayan-more-on-madras.html]Amardeep”>Amardeep Singh: Guest Post by Narayan: More on Madras, Elihu Yale, Hiram Bingham)</p>

<p>The reviewer comments about the book [Bingham = “him”]

</p>

<p>Nevertheless, the book includes the information

</p>

<p>Cotton Mather apparently wrote a letter to Yale to encourage a donation to the college, about which Bingham wrote

</p>

<p>And then later there is this comment, apparently from Mather:

</p>

<p>At the moment, I would favor the “no direct lineal descendants named Yale” theory, but I think the record is still uncertain.</p>

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<p>Perhaps Elihu adopted the son of the Connecticut cousin?</p>

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<p>It wouldn’t surprise me if people with the surname Yale believe that they are descended from (or at least related to) Elihu, even if they aren’t really.</p>