What is and isn't a legacy?

<p>Alright, how does legacy work? I know parents count, but do siblings count? What about grandparents? Thanks for the info ahead of time. :-)</p>

<p>siblings- yes
grandparents- i don't know how you inform colleges about this (but i would really like to know!!) but i'm pretty sure it's a yes</p>

<p>however, the big thing to understand is that colleges handle legacy students in a variety of ways</p>

<p>for instance, i know Penn has a reputation for having a kid's chances double if he/she is a legacy (and stats show that HYPS will look at legacies as a hook). But some schools hardly give a consideration to legacy status and accept students solely based on merit. Also, i doubt that state schools care about legacies...</p>

<p>Good to know! Thanks muchly! I'm mainly curious for other people, as both of my parents went to Wilkes University in Pennsylvania... Not where I want to go. Grandparents as legacy... hmmm.</p>

<p>each school handles it a different way ... call the school.</p>

<p>Yes call the school, but don't take them at their word. Adcoms do not like to talk about legacy status and will dodge your questions in the most creative ways imaginable. Generally, you won't receive much of a bump unless your parents attended (or an extended relative donated a LOT).</p>

<p>OK, thanks. I'm not realying on legacy or anything, but it's good to know.</p>

<p>My grandfather taught at a school for a pretty long time...can that factor in at all?</p>

<p>yeah, and if he has connections still, it'd be better than a legacy</p>

<p>actually i don't think siblings are considered legacies...</p>

<p>Siblings are definitely "legacy" material. That is, if a school considers legacies to be a hook, siblings who have attended/are attending are helpful.</p>

<p>Siblings are not considered legacies and there are not "hooks" in having a sibling attended the school that you are looking to attend. However, that is not to say that some schools are more sibling friendly than others and having a sibling can be a tip factor in the applicant's favor. Many applications will ask that you list any family members who have attended the school.</p>

<p>How do grandparents as professors/heads of departments factor in? My grandfather was at both Harvard and Princeton many years ago, and if I could count that as a legacy that would be great :)</p>

<p>But, due to the time frame, I'm not sure that he would just have much pull there any more without being considered a legacy :(</p>

<p>sybbie, how do you find out if a university is sibling friendly</p>

<p>
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How do grandparents as professors/heads of departments factor in? My grandfather was at both Harvard and Princeton many years ago, and if I could count that as a legacy that would be great

[/quote]
</p>

<p>They will not factor in much especially if no longer employed by the university. If your parents were currently employed as full professors then you would be considered a facbrat as your parents would also receive a tuition benefit.</p>

<p>Huzzah, I get an 80% discount if I go to the University of Dayton, because my mom works as a math prof. So what seems to be the consensus: Parents matter, siblings can be a clinch factor but nothing else, Grandparents might matter if they gave back a lot, but it's not for certain, and all of this depends on the college.</p>

<p>lol, what about cousins??!</p>

<p>nope, nope, nope</p>

<p>My mom got her MBA from Yale. Will that help?
Oh and my cousin recently got his MBA from Yale as well and lived in my house while he was here for 2 years...umm...that's probably not gonna help, right?</p>

<p>each school does it their own way. Some state schools do value legacies. At UVA if you are a legacy, your applicaiton is counted as instate</p>

<p>Siblings add a tip factor because it probably increases the chances of that siblign to attend given they have family already in attendance or have attended.</p>

<p>Its all about yield too. Offsprings of Alumnis typically would have greater yield or chances to matriculate to that university if they parents kinda push them into that direction of going to that college. Siblings, probably even more so, but that is a backthought in the minds of admission counselors though.</p>