Since the SCOTUS decision that ended affirmative action, legacy admission has caused a lot of consternation. One notable report by Raj Chetty, David J. Deming (both Harvard) and John N. Friedman (Brown University) revealed that kids from the richest one percent of American families are more than twice as likely to attend the country’s most elite private universities compared to middle-class students with similar test scores. Experts have also said the abolition of legacy admission could transform the entire college admissions process completely.
College Admissions Changes: Legacy Admissions
Admissions have changed a lot in the last few years, but we’re about to see a whole new wave of changes crash into some of our nation’s oldest institutions. If you’re reading this, we’re sure you know about the Supreme Court decision that banned schools from using race as a factor in college admissions in late June. This started a lot of discourse about race and privilege in admissions, which then of course led to discourse about legacy admissions. In the wake of the lawsuit, Wesleyan University announced they’re ditching the practice, but it didn’t end there. Last month, a new group of students announced a lawsuit against the college everyone loves to sue, Harvard – this time calling for an end to legacy admissions.
MIT Legacy Strategy
"My student is a legacy at MIT so that will help them get in," is something we hear often from parents of the students we work with… and we always hate to tell them this, but no, actually it won't. The issue with this belief is that MIT admissions office doesn't look at legacy status.
UC Schools Legacy Strategy
Maybe your legacy student is dreaming of going to Haas, a UCLA cluster, or even Film School at Santa Cruz. You might be wondering, “will my alumni status help them get into a UC?” It's a question we hear from parents all the time, especially when it comes to UC Berkeley and Los Angeles. So we wanted to break down what legacy means (and doesn’t mean) when applying to top UC schools.
Wake Forest Legacy Guide
Stanford Legacy Strategy
“Will being a legacy help them get into Stanford?” It’s a question we hear all the time from parents. It feels like it should be an easy “yes or no” answer, but it’s actually a little more complicated than that, especially for top schools like Stanford. Since it's a complex question, we wanted to break down the ins and outs of Stanford legacy admissions and what your legacy needs to get in.
USC Legacy Strategy
“Will being a SCion help them get in?” It’s a question we get a lot from USC alumni parents. For those not in the know, ‘SCion’ is the term that USC uses for legacies and the children of donors. The short answer is that yes, it will help but probably not as much as you think. Legacy admissions are more complicated than the easy-in that many alumni parents expect them to be. So, we wanted to break down all the complex ins and out of legacy admissions at USC.
Dartmouth Legacy Strategy
Dartmouth was the first college to have a legacy admissions policy in 1922. It has been over 100 years and many legacy students still apply to Dartmouth every year. A lot has changed since 1922 but legacy admissions are still a difficult-to-understand “field.” We constantly talk to parents who are confused by legacy admissions and what it means for their students, so today we wanted to break down everything we know about Dartmouth legacy admissions and what parents need to do if their legacy is dreaming of Dartmouth.
Columbia Legacy Strategy
"Of course, my kid will go to Columbia, he's a legacy!" We hear this from parents probably every week. We work with a lot of Ivy League legacies. We hate to break it to you, but just being a legacy isn't the boost that many parents believe it is. Legacy admissions are cloaked in secrecy on purpose, so today we want to demystify legacy admissions at Columbia and what your legacy student needs to get in.
Brown Legacy Strategy
Brown is kind of always having a moment. It's gotten even more popular than some of the other Ivies recently. In turn, this has driven down its already competitive acceptance rate. Right now, its acceptance rate sits at about 5%. It's harder than ever to get into Brown, but many alumni parents talk like their students will 100% get in because they are “legacies.” This always makes us a bit, to use an SAT word, ~trepidacious~. Legacy admissions are complex, secretive by design, and not the lock that many parents believe they are. So today we want to talk about what legacy admissions actually look like at Brown and what legacies can do as candidates to help stack their decks.
Duke Legacy Strategy
We work with a lot of legacies every year and every year we have to explain to parents that legacy isn't the make or break at top schools like Duke. What do we mean by this? Well, a lot of parents we work with think that just because their student is a legacy, it means they will get in. However, that isn't true. Colleges don't talk very openly about legacy admissions and that leaves parents in the dark, so we wanted to break down what is really going on with legacy admissions at Duke and what you can do to get your legacy in.
Cornell Legacy Strategy
All schools are at least a little secretive about legacy admissions. They don’t give exact facts or figures, but you might get some hints at information. Cornell is more secretive than most. They publish almost nothing about legacy admissions or their policies around it. This is why we get a little cautious when alumni parents start saying things like “oh course my kid will get into Cornell, they are a legacy!” We understand why parents think this, but especially at a super secretive school like Cornell, it isn’t backed up by data. So we wanted to break down everything Cornell has said about admissions and what in, our professional opinion, is your student’s best shot at getting in.
Princeton Legacy Strategy
"Well, I went to Princeton, so of course…" This is a sentence we hate to hear from parents because it usually ends with something to the effect of "my child will get in." We work with a lot of legacies. And many legacy parents believe that their kid getting into a top school like Princeton is a shoo-in. But that simply isn't the case. Legacy admissions are a lot more complicated and a lot more competitive. So let's break it down.
UPenn Legacy Strategy
“Hurrah, Hurrah! He’s going to be a quaker just like his mother!” is something we hear from parents all the time. It always gives us pause. Mainly because most alumni parents don’t really understand legacy admissions at top schools like Penn. They assume their kids will automatically get in, or that it’ll be significantly easier, which just isn’t the case. So if you are a legacy parent (or a student thinking of applying to your dear old parent’s alma mater), let’s break down legacy admissions at Penn.
Yale Legacy Strategy
“Of course, my kid is going to get into Yale. I went there, so they are a legacy!” We hear this way too much. And we hate to hear this because it is really not true, and we don’t like breaking bad news! Most legacies don’t get into Yale. It is the cold hard truth. But, if you are a legacy and you’re interested in your child getting in, read on. Let’s break down what legacy admissions really look like at Yale and how you can best support your legacy as they apply.
UPenn Legacy Guide
We work with legacy students all the time and the most common question we hear is from parents: “Will my legacy kid get in?” The answer can be slightly more complicated than you might think. At top schools like Penn, not every legacy gets in. Actually, most legacies do not get in. It’s just too competitive. So we wanted to break down all the ins and outs of legacy admission at Penn and answer some of the most common questions we get from alumni parents.
Harvard Legacy Strategy
We hear it all the time, “My kid is a legacy so of course, they are going to get in.” We, however, hate hearing this. Mostly because it's simply not true. And it's especially not true at a school like Harvard. Harvard has one of the lowest if not the lowest acceptance rate in America… really take that in. Of course, something as simple as legacy status is not going to make a student a lock.
Legacy Admission Guide for U Chicago
“What’s up with U Chicago legacy admissions?” It’s a harder question to answer than you might think. We work with legacy students often, so we make it our job to fully understand legacy admissions at top schools. This means looking at data, talking to admissions officers, and doing research. For many schools, this gives us a full picture of what to expect when applying as a legacy. For some others, it isn’t quite as clear-cut. U Chicago is unfortunately one of the latter. However, we still wanted to talk about legacies at U Chicago and give some tips for students who are hoping to follow in their family's maroon footsteps.
Cornell Legacy Guide
If you Google “Cornell Legacy admissions,” not a lot comes up. The University keeps quite a bit close to the chest. This makes sense. Legacy admissions can be a controversial subject and in recent years, many have called for the practice to be abolished. Not being too upfront about legacy admissions is something we have seen from many top schools. However, we work with legacy students often and feel it’s important for us to follow legacy admissions trends closely. We pour over data, talk to admissions officers, and track stats across the Ivy League and we want to share that knowledge with you. So today, let’s dive into the ins and outs of legacy admission at Cornell.
USC Legacy Guide
So you went to USC and now your kid wants to go, you might be asking yourself, will your alumni status help get them in? If so, how much will it help? We work with legacy candidates all the time and navigating legacy admissions at top schools can be more complicated than you think. Especially, because a lot of what we know about legacy admissions on USC’s campus today comes from a recent state audit. This might sound odd, but it’s actually a really good thing. We comb through data and talk to insiders every year and legacy admissions data is one of the topics that universities tend to obscure as much as they can. Having a recent official record is kind of a godsend! So today we wanted to break down the ins and outs of legacy admissions at USC and answer some of our most asked questions.