Princeton Legacy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Princeton legacies have higher SAT scores and GPAs at Princeton than their non-legacy peers.

https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2023/07/princeton-legacy-senior-survey-frosh-survey-gpa-sat-act-career

My child is a legacy with very high scores and GPA, but we have been advised that the legacy status doesn't matter that much today, and she will select an SCEA or ED choice based on the school she actually favors.

In the past they asked: Will the kid graduate. If yes, admit. Now they ask, is the kid 1550+ and straight As at strong high school. If yes, admit. They don’t need to be exceptional in other ways.

That's not true at Harvard. The kids also need desirable ECs and leadership potential.

It's also not true at Princeton. No one knows why certain kids get in and others don't. We're a family with several Princeton grads - some of the kids did not get in (and had 1580+, A's + good ECs) and some got in (lower stats, but still good + exceptional ECs)

Were your kids asked if they are legacy during interview? or was that info already known by interviewer/ didn't matter for the interviewer (admissions had already reviewed application by that point)?

The interviewer doesn’t have that info and our kids were not asked. But you mark it on the common app and Princeton flags it. We received a boilerplate letter sent to legacy apps acknowledging that they received the application.

If Princeton is truly a fit, then apply early. Read their supplemental prompts carefully and see if they can be answered in a compelling way. Overall, theyre pretty good at picking out who they want on campus.

I interview, and the only information we get is the kid's name and HS name and address. A lot of the time students think I have their application file. We don't. I would never ask about legacy status, but if someone brought it up, I would note it in my interview report (just as I note other elements of what the applicants say).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alum here. With multiple
Other family members who were also alums.

DD applied last year and was rejected. 1470 and 4.35 W at competitive private. Higest rigor. Another double legacy with similar stats and rigor was also rejected. Three other kids with better stats got in.

Legacy isn't enough anymore. You need the grades and the SAT. And/or athletic recruit/FGLI.

Or Maybe if your granddad is friends with the President.... that might still work.

Even the "feeder" schools are no longer a guarantee.

Overall, I'm happy she's at a different school. I was miserable there. She's VERY happy at a different school.

No, even the president’s son did not attend Princeton. This kind of thinking doesn’t apply to Princeton.

Are you joking? President Bush's granddaughter was enrolled when I was there, so were members of various royal families and kids of CEOs. I sincerely doubt they were all 1500+ on their SATs.

Author Daniel Golden shows how Al Gore’s son earned a questionable admission to Harvard, and how presidential niece Lauren Bush got into Princeton despite below-average SAT scores, mediocre grades at her Houston prep school and not bothering to apply until a month after the deadline. I’d like to see a working-class kid from South Dallas try that trick…

Yet the orange couldn't get any of his in to an ivy?? How did he himself get to wharton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

There is no ED. SCEA is not binding.

Right. But you can’t SCEA at Princeton and ED elsewhere, can you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

There is no ED. SCEA is not binding.

Right. But you can’t SCEA at Princeton and ED elsewhere, can you?

Correct. It prevents you from applying ED at other private colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alum here. With multiple
Other family members who were also alums.

DD applied last year and was rejected. 1470 and 4.35 W at competitive private. Higest rigor. Another double legacy with similar stats and rigor was also rejected. Three other kids with better stats got in.

Legacy isn't enough anymore. You need the grades and the SAT. And/or athletic recruit/FGLI.

Or Maybe if your granddad is friends with the President.... that might still work.

Even the "feeder" schools are no longer a guarantee.

Overall, I'm happy she's at a different school. I was miserable there. She's VERY happy at a different school.

No, even the president’s son did not attend Princeton. This kind of thinking doesn’t apply to Princeton.

Are you joking? President Bush's granddaughter was enrolled when I was there, so were members of various royal families and kids of CEOs. I sincerely doubt they were all 1500+ on their SATs.

When was this? Things have changed very quickly in the world of college admissions.

I’m always seeking info from the past five years. There’s plenty of it out there. Anything pre-2021 is unnecessary and distracting - unless someone asks for it explicitly (“What was Princeton admissions like in the 90s?”)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

My 1580, 4.0, excellent ECs legacy was deferred SCEA, fwiw. Other very strong legacy applicants at his school were also deferred SCEA. Maybe one or some will get in RD but based on our experience I wouldn’t over-value legacy when deciding. The main thing I observe from kids we know is the legacies were deferred and the non-legacies were rejected. But the deferral might just be a courtesy to string out the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

There is no ED. SCEA is not binding.

Right. But you can’t SCEA at Princeton and ED elsewhere, can you?

Correct. It prevents you from applying ED at other private colleges.

Don't you mean EA? ED is to 1 college. SCEA can apply to publics tho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

There is no ED. SCEA is not binding.

Right. But you can’t SCEA at Princeton and ED elsewhere, can you?

Correct. It prevents you from applying ED at other private colleges.

Don't you mean EA? ED is to 1 college. SCEA can apply to publics tho.

Not sure where the confusion is. If you apply SCEA you cannot apply to either ED(1) or to EA options at other private colleges. PP was right that SCEA would make the student miss an ED opportunity elsewhere, since ED boosts admissions odds more than EA.

[Anonymous]

My legacy kids did not bother trying their SCEA luck at Princeton. Both applied ED to another Ivy and both were accepted. I only know one peer from my class at Princeton with a kid at Princeton and that was a recruited athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

My 1580, 4.0, excellent ECs legacy was deferred SCEA, fwiw. Other very strong legacy applicants at his school were also deferred SCEA. Maybe one or some will get in RD but based on our experience I wouldn’t over-value legacy when deciding. The main thing I observe from kids we know is the legacies were deferred and the non-legacies were rejected. But the deferral might just be a courtesy to string out the process.

Thanks for sharing! Would be great if you could update us when RD decisions are released in March.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

My 1580, 4.0, excellent ECs legacy was deferred SCEA, fwiw. Other very strong legacy applicants at his school were also deferred SCEA. Maybe one or some will get in RD but based on our experience I wouldn’t over-value legacy when deciding. The main thing I observe from kids we know is the legacies were deferred and the non-legacies were rejected. But the deferral might just be a courtesy to string out the process.

PP here with 1500 kid. Thanks to you and others who took time to reply. I should have also mentioned that Princeton (unlike Harvard) doesn’t seem to like our HS that much, denying kids with higher stats/ECs but no legacy, and only accepting 1 kid every 1-2 years. In contrast, Harvard (which my kid is not interested in) takes 3-4 kids every year some REA some RD. I wasn’t sure if Princeton legacy would help given the generally lower prospects at that school, but sounds like probably not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

My 1580, 4.0, excellent ECs legacy was deferred SCEA, fwiw. Other very strong legacy applicants at his school were also deferred SCEA. Maybe one or some will get in RD but based on our experience I wouldn’t over-value legacy when deciding. The main thing I observe from kids we know is the legacies were deferred and the non-legacies were rejected. But the deferral might just be a courtesy to string out the process.

PP here with 1500 kid. Thanks to you and others who took time to reply. I should have also mentioned that Princeton (unlike Harvard) doesn’t seem to like our HS that much, denying kids with higher stats/ECs but no legacy, and only accepting 1 kid every 1-2 years. In contrast, Harvard (which my kid is not interested in) takes 3-4 kids every year some REA some RD. I wasn’t sure if Princeton legacy would help given the generally lower prospects at that school, but sounds like probably not.

DC who is legacy was accepted early this round from our public school. No one had been accepted in the past 5 years. This year they took two in the early round which everyone seems surprised by. My only explanation is that Princeton will take who they want, and it doesn't matter which school you're coming from. If your kid is a good fit for Princeton otherwise, then strategically, it is worth considering applying there early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

My 1580, 4.0, excellent ECs legacy was deferred SCEA, fwiw. Other very strong legacy applicants at his school were also deferred SCEA. Maybe one or some will get in RD but based on our experience I wouldn’t over-value legacy when deciding. The main thing I observe from kids we know is the legacies were deferred and the non-legacies were rejected. But the deferral might just be a courtesy to string out the process.

PP here with 1500 kid. Thanks to you and others who took time to reply. I should have also mentioned that Princeton (unlike Harvard) doesn’t seem to like our HS that much, denying kids with higher stats/ECs but no legacy, and only accepting 1 kid every 1-2 years. In contrast, Harvard (which my kid is not interested in) takes 3-4 kids every year some REA some RD. I wasn’t sure if Princeton legacy would help given the generally lower prospects at that school, but sounds like probably not.

DC who is legacy was accepted early this round from our public school. No one had been accepted in the past 5 years. This year they took two in the early round which everyone seems surprised by. My only explanation is that Princeton will take who they want, and it doesn't matter which school you're coming from. If your kid is a good fit for Princeton otherwise, then strategically, it is worth considering applying there early.

Curious what kids stats where. This is unheard of at our school. No one gets in lately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

My 1580, 4.0, excellent ECs legacy was deferred SCEA, fwiw. Other very strong legacy applicants at his school were also deferred SCEA. Maybe one or some will get in RD but based on our experience I wouldn’t over-value legacy when deciding. The main thing I observe from kids we know is the legacies were deferred and the non-legacies were rejected. But the deferral might just be a courtesy to string out the process.

PP here with 1500 kid. Thanks to you and others who took time to reply. I should have also mentioned that Princeton (unlike Harvard) doesn’t seem to like our HS that much, denying kids with higher stats/ECs but no legacy, and only accepting 1 kid every 1-2 years. In contrast, Harvard (which my kid is not interested in) takes 3-4 kids every year some REA some RD. I wasn’t sure if Princeton legacy would help given the generally lower prospects at that school, but sounds like probably not.

DC who is legacy was accepted early this round from our public school. No one had been accepted in the past 5 years. This year they took two in the early round which everyone seems surprised by. My only explanation is that Princeton will take who they want, and it doesn't matter which school you're coming from. If your kid is a good fit for Princeton otherwise, then strategically, it is worth considering applying there early.

Curious what kids stats where. This is unheard of at our school. No one gets in lately.

Stats are like everyone else, 3.98UW, 35 ACT. Great ECs and essays. One recommendation letter was a best in career letter. Submitted arts portfolio and had one international award (and some other state/regional awards). I think what helped were the LORs and essays. Legacy apps get a close read, so I think that helped in DCs case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would 1500 / 4.0uw / high rigor from strong public pass the bar for legacy SCEA? State-level awards, strong and somewhat unique arts/community/research ECs but nothing crazy special. Don’t want to waste an opportunity to ED elsewhere if no real chance.

My 1580, 4.0, excellent ECs legacy was deferred SCEA, fwiw. Other very strong legacy applicants at his school were also deferred SCEA. Maybe one or some will get in RD but based on our experience I wouldn’t over-value legacy when deciding. The main thing I observe from kids we know is the legacies were deferred and the non-legacies were rejected. But the deferral might just be a courtesy to string out the process.

PP here with 1500 kid. Thanks to you and others who took time to reply. I should have also mentioned that Princeton (unlike Harvard) doesn’t seem to like our HS that much, denying kids with higher stats/ECs but no legacy, and only accepting 1 kid every 1-2 years. In contrast, Harvard (which my kid is not interested in) takes 3-4 kids every year some REA some RD. I wasn’t sure if Princeton legacy would help given the generally lower prospects at that school, but sounds like probably not.

DC who is legacy was accepted early this round from our public school. No one had been accepted in the past 5 years. This year they took two in the early round which everyone seems surprised by. My only explanation is that Princeton will take who they want, and it doesn't matter which school you're coming from. If your kid is a good fit for Princeton otherwise, then strategically, it is worth considering applying there early.

Curious what kids stats where. This is unheard of at our school. No one gets in lately.

Stats are like everyone else, 3.98UW, 35 ACT. Great ECs and essays. One recommendation letter was a best in career letter. Submitted arts portfolio and had one international award (and some other state/regional awards). I think what helped were the LORs and essays. Legacy apps get a close read, so I think that helped in DCs case.

It’s always holistic but arts supplement and international award probably gave a bump.