SLAC Legacy Admission

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The legacy aspect is pretty strong - very active involvement plus decent sized donations.

Not with those stats. At this point legacy only works if it is really a coin toss between two applicants. A mediocre standardized tester with a parent who gives "decent sized" donations isn't a gimme.

You'll be surprised by stats for kids with hooks at Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Strongly disagree that there is a “vanishingly small chance” of admissions. Like it or not, legacy acceptance rates at Amherst and Williams remain about 30-40%, which is 3-4 times the general admission rate. So I don’t think OP’s question is hypothetical. Whether or not OP’s daughter should pursue ED very much depends on more personalized issues - whether she likes a small town setting, whether she sees herself fitting in with the social scene, whether she is OK with liberal arts focus and probably not being at the top of the class etc.

[Anonymous]

My kid was similar and opted for a CTCL school. It has been a great decision. This particular kid is much more comfortable being stronger than average than weaker than average. Excellent grad programs are probably next.

I'd answer differently for a different kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The legacy aspect is pretty strong - very active involvement plus decent sized donations.

Not with those stats. At this point legacy only works if it is really a coin toss between two applicants. A mediocre standardized tester with a parent who gives "decent sized" donations isn't a gimme.

You'll be surprised by stats for kids with hooks at Ivies.

Surprise me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strongly disagree that there is a “vanishingly small chance” of admissions. Like it or not, legacy acceptance rates at Amherst and Williams remain about 30-40%, which is 3-4 times the general admission rate. So I don’t think OP’s question is hypothetical. Whether or not OP’s daughter should pursue ED very much depends on more personalized issues - whether she likes a small town setting, whether she sees herself fitting in with the social scene, whether she is OK with liberal arts focus and probably not being at the top of the class etc.

Wow, that is high. I’d love a citation if you have one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Strongly disagree that there is a “vanishingly small chance” of admissions. Like it or not, legacy acceptance rates at Amherst and Williams remain about 30-40%, which is 3-4 times the general admission rate. So I don’t think OP’s question is hypothetical. Whether or not OP’s daughter should pursue ED very much depends on more personalized issues - whether she likes a small town setting, whether she sees herself fitting in with the social scene, whether she is OK with liberal arts focus and probably not being at the top of the class etc.

Wow, that is high. I’d love a citation if you have one.

Don’t hold your breath. Poster made it up. Colleges don’t publish legacy admission rate.

[Anonymous]

By decent size donations do you mean 100k a year? I think that’s relevant. That’s a factor. My ‘regular’ smart cousins went to an Ivy but there is a building on the campus with their last name.

[Anonymous]

Not true. Harvard has released its and it is 33%, which is 5-6 times regular admission so would not be surprised at all if SLAC Big 2 is around the same. It’s a bit of a self-selecting fugure, however, since Admissions will give legacy applicants an advance read and let them know likelihood if they apply ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Understood. But I’m not really asking if she will be admitted. Reframing the question, assuming she would be admitted (and I fully understand that may not happen), would she be better off struggling a bit academically at a SLAC Top 3 or going somewhere where she would be more in line academically with the rest of the class (like Dickinson) but not reap some of the benefits of an Amherst/Williams/Pomona education. Thanks!

Fit is always the most important consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strongly disagree that there is a “vanishingly small chance” of admissions. Like it or not, legacy acceptance rates at Amherst and Williams remain about 30-40%, which is 3-4 times the general admission rate. So I don’t think OP’s question is hypothetical. Whether or not OP’s daughter should pursue ED very much depends on more personalized issues - whether she likes a small town setting, whether she sees herself fitting in with the social scene, whether she is OK with liberal arts focus and probably not being at the top of the class etc.

Friends, double legacy and huge donors, still committed to Williams had a recent high school graduate with excellent stats and superior ECs not gain admittance. I am talking 6-7 figure donor.

So, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not true. Harvard has released its and it is 33%, which is 5-6 times regular admission so would not be surprised at all if SLAC Big 2 is around the same. It’s a bit of a self-selecting fugure, however, since Admissions will give legacy applicants an advance read and let them know likelihood if they apply ED.

Still no Williams or Amherst citation. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Strongly disagree that there is a “vanishingly small chance” of admissions. Like it or not, legacy acceptance rates at Amherst and Williams remain about 30-40%, which is 3-4 times the general admission rate. So I don’t think OP’s question is hypothetical. Whether or not OP’s daughter should pursue ED very much depends on more personalized issues - whether she likes a small town setting, whether she sees herself fitting in with the social scene, whether she is OK with liberal arts focus and probably not being at the top of the class etc.

Friends, double legacy and huge donors, still committed to Williams had a recent high school graduate with excellent stats and superior ECs not gain admittance. I am talking 6-7 figure donor.

So, no.

And you know exactly what the kid's stats were? I doubt the parents told you the truth about the kid's stats or their actual donations.

[Anonymous]

OP: you didn't mention where she is in high school. Stats like from one of the area highly rigorous privates show that she can in fact hack the work of probably any school. Stats like that from a local public would indidace that she may not. 1380 is a strong score, it's the grades that are the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: you didn't mention where she is in high school. Stats like from one of the area highly rigorous privates show that she can in fact hack the work of probably any school. Stats like that from a local public would indidace that she may not. 1380 is a strong score, it's the grades that are the issue.

No, 1380 is a weak score at W-A-S. Below the bottom 25% at all three. Williams 25% = 1420, Amherst 25% = 1420, Swat 25% = 1390,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not true. Harvard has released its and it is 33%, which is 5-6 times regular admission so would not be surprised at all if SLAC Big 2 is around the same. It’s a bit of a self-selecting fugure, however, since Admissions will give legacy applicants an advance read and let them know likelihood if they apply ED.

Still no Williams or Amherst citation. Got it.

I think at Harvard it was an informal poll who asked incoming students about their hook(s).

"According to the Harvard Crimson’s annual survey, 43.2 percent of legacies and 20 percent of athletes in the university’s class of 2019 come from households that earn more than $500,000 a year."

https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/news-opinion/new-report-shows-43-percent-of-white-students-admitted-to-harvard-are-legacies-athletes-or-kids-of-donors-and-faculty