Tuition benefits vary by school. Duke has a very generous college tuition benefit for children of staff and faculty that is portable. It can't be used at public schools within North Carolina (because that tuition rate is where the deductible is set), but it can be used at any private school or out of state public. It's incredibly generous.

Most schools have institutional priorities, and faculty/staff kids is surely one at Duke. The student would need to be objectively qualified to attend, but there's undoubtedly a bump.

At Harvard admitted student days, I met a parent (Harvard professor) of an admitted student who was rejected from Vanderbilt ED1. So I’d say having a parent who is a professor at a highly selective college is a big hook.

Yes, it is definitely a hook. Oftentimes the parent working at the university also has a degree from there, so the child is a legacy and a faculty child. There are other perks that come with that, which may include the fact that the kid also likely attended a "feeder" school that sends a lot of graduates to the school, and possibly had a summer research position at the university as well. If a kid like this applies SCEA or ED, they will have a huge advantage.

- A prof at an Ivy whose two kids are at the same Ivy