<p>As someone who has no legacy, I completely agree with legacy being an advantage. It sucks for me, yea, but one of the primary reasons USC is my top choice is because of the school spirit. Legacy kids want to go, they'll maintain that spirit I love. I'd much rather dorm with someone who's legacy than someone who's only attending because they were rejected from Stanford or the Ivies.</p>
<p>bmw</p>
<p>i agree with bmw.</p>
<p>i agree with bmw as well. especially in this economy, competitive private universities are pressured to accept students with demonstrated interest in their school, and therefore are more likely to matriculate. by being a legacy, you indicate that usc has played a role in your upbringing and family history, and therefore is less likely to be a school that you just applied to for the hell of it. on the other hand, there are many other ways to express interest in a school like usc; campus visit, interview, mailing list, etc.</p>
<p>so with that being said, i think that legacy advantages are fair for the same reason that the advantage of demonstrating interest in other ways is fair: because there is nothing more unfair than being accepted to a school that you would never even consider. it is unfair to the students who were rejected and would have gladly taken your place.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think USC considers legacy important... I definitely said it several times in my interview that because of being a legacy, I've been to exposed to USC traditions, etc that have really helped increase my interest in the school.</p>
<p>I feel that the argument that legacy = more school love is valid, but not necessarily true. I feel like the idea that a person has legacy at a school makes it almost a safety for them, a school they could get into because of connections even if they don't want to go there. I don't think legacy necessarily increases a love for the school, but might almost do the opposite.
Further, legacies don't always play active roles in the family. For example, my dad went to lehigh, but we rarely speak of the school. In fact, my dad actively told me not to apply there because he did not think i would like it. So to give somebody the advantage because they want to keep the school in the family seems kind of absurd and unfair. If anything they should spread the family, include newer ties so that if in fact the "legacy children love the school" holds true for certain people, there will be a wider variety of people wishing to be trojans. </p>
<p>please don't read this as me whining. i've accepted that i don't have a strong legacy connection, it's just an interesting point i'd like to raise</p>
<p>First: I am NOT a legacy...my parents or gradnparetns didn't even GO to college. I agree with greeneyes in the sense that there are SO MANY things in the admissions process that aren't fair..it will never be justified. Legacy is just one of the many forms of "unfairness" exemplified by admissions today. No, I am not complaining...i do agree that you MUST use whatever u can to get in..but there are so many other flaws we need to be worried about in the process than just legacvy. I am from michigan and, though "qualfiied", was told by many ppl i wouldnt get in to UM because of their affirmative action discrimination history (rejected white males/females like myself --im a male). BUT, I did get in. I think the admissions processes in today's colleges are slowly becoming more equal, however ther ewill never be equality--especially with legacy cause that NEVER goes away.</p>
<p>I do wanna point out, tho, that just where "legacy" may be an advantage, i have heard that "first gen college student" is also an advantage...and the two are virtually opposite. in the end, any part of our application may be viewed as advantasgeous or disadvantasgeous, depending on the school, admissions counselor, and the like.</p>
<p>londonx105- Don't worry- your "1st generation in family to go to college" status will help you more than anyone's legacy status. I.e. I was told by an USC admission counselor that legacy is no longer considered for admission. The only benefit of legacy at USC is the fact that if a legacies are rejected, they are given an invitation to personally meet with a counselor to advise them about requirements for transferring at a later time.</p>
<p>i can't wait until next week</p>
<p>hopefully it will be in my mailbox in exactly one week</p>
<p>is there for sure the next wave coming next week?</p>
<p>cc411, I heard something similar. USC barely even considers alumni anymore.</p>
<p>Also, just because your family went to USC and you're part of a legacy, it doesn't mean you're anymore excited to go to USC than other people applying. It may mean that USC has been a part of your upbringing, but I know plenty of people who have chosen USC as their first choice (including myself), and are extremely excited about it. However, I have definitely come to accept the fact that alumni can play a small part in someone's admission.</p>
<p>tbibbs: yeah, pretty sure next wave will be sent out this friday and SoCal people receive it on Saturday, and NorCal and the rest of the country receive it next week</p>
<p>Shane, if that's so.... imagine I get accepted on Saturday, my EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY!</p>
<p>Thing is, I won't even know until Monday... because I'll be at Disneyland on Saturday and my mailbox is closed on Sundays.</p>
<p>that would be a pretty sick birthday present.</p>
<p>is it a problem if my status was updated to the "admissions committee" about 2.5-3 weeks ago, but the date still says 1/05/09? or is it nothing to worry about (as past threads would make it seem)?</p>
<p>i'm with you, btbam. i live in la but i'm going to be out of town this weekend. the suspense is going to kill me on that 7 hour car ride home!</p>
<p>Anyone else get a date change to 2/24/2009 today? I got the status chnage a while ago but today the date was updated.</p>
<p>barton....when was ur other status change? and can u try the explore link to see if maybe that was the update?</p>
<p>Maybee for those who got a status change within the past week or so could mean we will be part of the wave for this Friday??</p>
<p>is the new wave for sure this friday?</p>
<p>my last status update was 12/19...soo a while ago. and what is the explore link?</p>
<p>Mine got updated to in review by admissions committee on 2/4 could that be good or bad?</p>