Anonymous
Post 06/30/2025 11:45     Subject: Re:How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Still matters at some schools but definitely getting to be less and less.

We had a strong legacy candidate (stronger on paper than you describe) denied at Hopkins



Hopkins never considered legacy, so there’s that.


There are many articles about Hopkins "ending legacy preference". Makes it sound like they used to have it.


According to a Washington Post article, they ended legacy preferences in 2014. As a result, legacy was previously 9% of incoming freshmen in 2013 and it fell to 2% of incoming freshmen in 2022.

Though it may be just rumors, I thought I read somewhere that Bloomberg - by far the biggest donor to JHU - did not like legacy and that was what motivated the change.
Anonymous
Post 06/30/2025 11:03     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am 100% sure legacy is extremely helpful for Princeton
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Do you know legacy applicants admitted with lesser stats and/or lesser ECs?



I'm not that PP, but no. TBH, there were 3 legacy applicants in DC's class. Two were top students as was the third, but in the second to highest not tippy top math class (four total). That student had an EC that very few have, so admitted. The second got rejected at ED1/2 schools, but admitted to Princeton in RD. The third, a female of color, also in the top classes, great ECs, and impressive parents who were both alum...was rejected in whatever Princeton uses for ED. Can't make any sense of that. Great kid, friend of DC.
Anonymous
Post 06/30/2025 10:54     Subject: How much does legacy help?
If it's Princeton, it could help. The others, not so much.
Anonymous
Post 06/30/2025 09:17     Subject: Re:How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Still matters at some schools but definitely getting to be less and less.

We had a strong legacy candidate (stronger on paper than you describe) denied at Hopkins



Hopkins never considered legacy, so there’s that.


This isn’t correct. A change was made in the past five years. This is from Hopkins itself:

https://hub.jhu.edu/magazine/2020/spring/ending-legacy-admissions/
Anonymous
Post 06/30/2025 07:27     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My child is “high stats” from a strong private school (stats fall within the 25-75th percentile for top colleges). DC is also a legacy at one of said ridiculously selective colleges (think, HYPS).

But…DC has very average ECs. Their not going to be an athletic recruit, nor will they have national recognition in anything (excluding possibly NMSF). It’s obviously too late to have put a violin in their hand at age 3, and DC will never write a novel.

If you were in the same boat, can you give your honest take on how much legacy status helped? We are not a “development case,” but have donated modest amounts since college graduation.


OP, can you come back and share if your DC applies early to the legacy school and if they get accepted/denied? I will do the same. Mine has the GPA and the ECs/awards, I think, but the SATs might hold them back. Studying for August exam. Public school, humanities major


NP. My DC has the stats to get into Duke, and I am an alum. 2 kids got in this year from their NOVA public HS, one legacy and and not sure about the other. They will apply ED this fall but under no illusions about getting in. I'll post back too. I am not going to be crushed if not accepted.


How involved are you at Duke both financially and otherwise (interviewing, reunions, etc.)? Duke is pretty loyal to alums, though it is far from a sure thing.

Smart to manage your child's expectations. I have seen too many kids think they were guaranteed as a legacy and then be crushed when they don't get in.


I am a little involved, not a lot. I give regularly but less than $1000 a year, so not enough to make a difference. I loved my time at Duke, but given our great in-state options in Virginia, it is hard to swallow $90k+ tuition for 4 years.
Anonymous
Post 06/30/2025 07:05     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Notre Dame still heavily considers legacy, although they are scaling back. I think legacy can tip the scale in an applicant’s favor, but they still need to have competitive stats and strong essays/ECs. I am hoping for a sibling bump for my high stats younger DC who has ND as her first choice. Neither I nor my husband attended, but my father in law did. Legacy can also help a school manage their yield rates.
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 21:00     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m a Vanderbilt alum who has never donated $1 and am not involved. My DC who had in-range stats at their competitive public HS was deferred ED2, in for RD this year.


For the SLAC’s at least, the “buzz” is that you need to apply ED to get the legacy bump. My kid applied RD at a WASP where he’s a legacy and was waitlisted. Fortunately their expectations going in were low to non-existent.


Yes that’s why they applied ED2, we were surprised with the deferral and eventual admit to be honest. Was Al expecting a rejection given admit rate in RD. They had no super high level EC’s. Just kind of above average high achiever type kid.


My understanding is that Vanderbilt takes very few students in ED2, but now I can’t think of where I read that, so I’m not sure if it’s true. Does anyone have their ED2 stats handy? Or do they not break them out separately from ED1?

That said, I can see how kids who applied ED2 might be looked upon more favorably during RD. Shows a higher level of interest (and I’m guessing they might get a second read during the RD round?)


Yes there definitely is not the same advantage as ED1, but it still conveys that you are committed if accepted. My DC did apply somewhere else for ED1 (an Ivy) and Vanderbilt was their #2. Looking back, I don’t think the ED1 was the best fit and so it was a blessing in disguise that it was a no. They truly wanted to attend Vanderbilt and it was pretty much the only school they applied that had ED2 so it was a no-brainer. In the end, they had really good options, and still chose Vanderbilt.
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 18:14     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m a Vanderbilt alum who has never donated $1 and am not involved. My DC who had in-range stats at their competitive public HS was deferred ED2, in for RD this year.


For the SLAC’s at least, the “buzz” is that you need to apply ED to get the legacy bump. My kid applied RD at a WASP where he’s a legacy and was waitlisted. Fortunately their expectations going in were low to non-existent.


Yes that’s why they applied ED2, we were surprised with the deferral and eventual admit to be honest. Was Al expecting a rejection given admit rate in RD. They had no super high level EC’s. Just kind of above average high achiever type kid.


My understanding is that Vanderbilt takes very few students in ED2, but now I can’t think of where I read that, so I’m not sure if it’s true. Does anyone have their ED2 stats handy? Or do they not break them out separately from ED1?

That said, I can see how kids who applied ED2 might be looked upon more favorably during RD. Shows a higher level of interest (and I’m guessing they might get a second read during the RD round?)
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 17:47     Subject: Re:How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Still matters at some schools but definitely getting to be less and less.

We had a strong legacy candidate (stronger on paper than you describe) denied at Hopkins



Hopkins never considered legacy, so there’s that.


There are many articles about Hopkins "ending legacy preference". Makes it sound like they used to have it.
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 17:44     Subject: Re:How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:Still matters at some schools but definitely getting to be less and less.

We had a strong legacy candidate (stronger on paper than you describe) denied at Hopkins



Hopkins never considered legacy, so there’s that.
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 15:38     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Neither of my kids got into Brown as legacies. They each got into other similarly competitive schools… And they both were ED to Brown! Luckily it all worked out …


I know several legacies at Brown now - the younger one was obviously a legacy and a sibling. I believe both were ED. And I know another Brown legacy who I believe got in regular decision off the wait list - they were all set to go to their very good flagship state university - not sure if they applied ED or not.

Someone mentioned Michigan above. Do they give any legacy bump? Parent? Grandparent?


Michigan no longer considers legacy.
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 13:02     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m a Vanderbilt alum who has never donated $1 and am not involved. My DC who had in-range stats at their competitive public HS was deferred ED2, in for RD this year.


For the SLAC’s at least, the “buzz” is that you need to apply ED to get the legacy bump. My kid applied RD at a WASP where he’s a legacy and was waitlisted. Fortunately their expectations going in were low to non-existent.


Yes that’s why they applied ED2, we were surprised with the deferral and eventual admit to be honest. Was Al expecting a rejection given admit rate in RD. They had no super high level EC’s. Just kind of above average high achiever type kid.


Vandy is known for a big legacy boost as well as a sibling preference, but must file ED.
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 12:07     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m a Vanderbilt alum who has never donated $1 and am not involved. My DC who had in-range stats at their competitive public HS was deferred ED2, in for RD this year.


For the SLAC’s at least, the “buzz” is that you need to apply ED to get the legacy bump. My kid applied RD at a WASP where he’s a legacy and was waitlisted. Fortunately their expectations going in were low to non-existent.


Yes that’s why they applied ED2, we were surprised with the deferral and eventual admit to be honest. Was Al expecting a rejection given admit rate in RD. They had no super high level EC’s. Just kind of above average high achiever type kid.
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 11:01     Subject: How much does legacy help?
I'm interested in hearing more about sibling bump...
Anonymous
Post 06/29/2025 11:00     Subject: How much does legacy help?
Anonymous wrote:I’m a Vanderbilt alum who has never donated $1 and am not involved. My DC who had in-range stats at their competitive public HS was deferred ED2, in for RD this year.


For the SLAC’s at least, the “buzz” is that you need to apply ED to get the legacy bump. My kid applied RD at a WASP where he’s a legacy and was waitlisted. Fortunately their expectations going in were low to non-existent.