But WHY? Legacy Admissions

But WHY? Legacy Admissions

A hot-button issue right now is the role of Legacy status in college admissions. A legacy is usually an applicant who had a parent or grandparent who attended the university. There are some schools that consider a sibling or aunt/uncle to also quality an applicant for legacy status.

So what are the advantages of being a legacy? Generally speaking, it can be a factor to help you get admission into a school.

Legacy can range from being a tip factor to a hook, depending on the specific situation. And, in reality, it’s all about the money. School’s need money to survive. A lot of this money comes from Alumni donations. To keep the donations coming, they must keep the alumni happy. How do you make alumni happy? By admitting their kids.  

So lets talk about the types of Legacy’s that you might be up against.  

The “Typical Legacy” this is a student whose parent(s) attended the college in question. Their parent’s donate a small amount to the school occasionally.

The result: A typical legacy will get a small tip in their favor in evaluation. They are adding a small bonus of “continuing the family legacy,” but are not adding a whole lot to the school. They will have to get in largely on their own merits, but if compared to an identical non-legacy applicant, they will be viewed favorably.

Why: The family of the applicant has no influence on the health or future school.

The “Forever Legacy” is a student who comes from a long line of alumni of the school. Everyone went there. There is probably a decent donation made from the family each year to the school, they are probably influential alumni, and there are probably connections to the higher-ups of the school.

The Result: A Forever Legacy will get a hefty tip in their favor. The influence the family holds, and the long line of alumni will help them. They cannot be completely unqualified (unless they are also a “moneyed legacy”) but this is a case where a legacy turns into a hook.

Why: The school wants to continue the chain of the family, and the family has members who can complain to influential people if the student does not get in.

The “Powerful Legacy” is a legacy whose family holds power and prestige. This is likely in both the real world and the school. Member’s of this student’s family sit on boards and councils, and bring prestige to the school by being alumni.

The Result: A powerful legacy has the additional bonus of being the child of someone influential (a possible hook). They must be qualified (and their high power family would suggest that they probably are) but they have a very big tip factor in their favor.

Why: This student’s family adds prestige to the school, and the school wants to keep the family happy. 

The “Moneyed Legacy” is a legacy whose family donates huge amounts of money to the school.

The Result: The student will probably get in unless they are wholly unqualified.

Why: Because the school needs the money the family donates. If they anger the family (by not admitting their children), the donations will stop.

The best advice about legacy admissions I can give you is BE QUALIFIED. That’s the best admissions advice in general, but specifically in this case. It will not get you in, but it is a positive.

Don’t worry about not being a legacy to a school. It won’t hurt you.