Anonymous
03/21/2025 14:07
Subject: How much does legacy matter at Ivy League schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It doesn't. I'm a 3x generation Cornell legacy. My cousins and I all became PhDs. I'm the only one that got in to Cornell but I had everything you need to get into elite schools (national awards) they did not.
Legacy preferences do not mean that every legacy candidate gets admitted. It means they are far more likely to get admitted, relative to a comparable candidate without the legacy preference. Your story about your single family does not mean that legacy preferences do not exist.
There are studies with actual data which show otherwise. This 2023 one by two Harvard professors shows that legacy candidates are 5X more likely to get into the group of "Ivy Plus" schools than non-legacy candidates. The authors note: “It’s absolutely not true that legacy applicants have an advantage in getting into other institutions where their parents did not go — admissions rates look basically the same. Showing you that it really is about being a legacy applicant, as opposed to other factors.”
https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CollegeAdmissions_Nontech_Figures.pdf
This. You aren't guaranteed to get in as a legacy, but you are a helluva lot more likely to get in.
Anonymous
03/21/2025 14:00
Subject: How much does legacy matter at Ivy League schools
Anonymous wrote:I am not a major donor, no.
- then your child’s chances are slim.
Anonymous
03/21/2025 08:54
Subject: How much does legacy matter at Ivy League schools
Anonymous wrote:I've come to think sibling legacy is a thing.
It is a thing that some private schools consider. They will pull your siblings academic record to see how they did as well.
Anonymous
03/21/2025 07:24
Subject: How much does legacy matter at Ivy League schools
I've come to think sibling legacy is a thing.