Does Legacy Really Matter?

hellosunshine · 05-04-2008, 01:59 PM

I'm not even in high school yet, so who knows where I will stand three or four years from now, but I know that I want to go to Amherst for college, and am almost certain I will stay in the same mindset for the next few years.

I'm a fifth generation legacy. (Great-great grandfather was president of Amherst for 3 years, great grandfather attended, grandfather attended, grandmother attended, two uncles attended, two aunts attended, two cousins attended.) So, I'm curious, how much does legacy actually count in this whole process?

I'm not expecting to get in on legacy, I'm planning on working very very hard in high school (will be attending a top new england prep school next year), but in all seriousness, does it even help?

Catfish · 05-04-2008, 02:30 PM

Your grandmother attended? How old is she? Amherst wasn't coed until 1975.

kwu · 05-04-2008, 03:44 PM

The CommonApp asks:

"Do you have any siblings, parents, or grandparents who are alumni or current students at Amherst College?"

And, it lets you upload an additional document, a full list of all of your relatives who may have attended.

So, yeah, if you have an extensive legacy, at any school really, it should help you out significantly, as long as you aren't a terrible student.

whooopa8 · 05-05-2008, 07:28 AM

i hate legacy....

pinkpineapple · 05-21-2008, 03:27 PM

you may hate it, but nepotism makes the world go round

evaholtz · 05-21-2008, 03:40 PM

You may find this article on legacies helpful:
ABC News: Legacy #'s Strong, Admissions Down: Fair?

Eva

Catfish · 05-21-2008, 04:04 PM

Don't be so harsh on legacies. I'm not one, but several of my friends are and they are as capable as everyone else here, if not more so.

kwu · 05-21-2008, 05:26 PM

Quote:

"What you need to remember about legacies is that they are generally better qualified than other candidates, not weaker," said Bill Shain, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Bowdoin College in Maine. "They come from homes that value education, and they've typically [come from] either good schools or good school systems."

A favorable argument for legacy applicants...

BAfromBC · 05-22-2008, 05:19 AM

So, everyone in your family went to Amherst except for your parents? Where did they go?

Interesting...

Was your great-great-grandfather George Olds? (He served as president for 3 years in the 1920's.)

A legacy usually refers to parents/grandparents only, as far as I have been told. And legacy status generally carries more weight if large donations have been involved, I believe. However, being descended from a former AC pres, I imagine, might mean a bit more than a standard legacy relationship.

Again, interesting...

hellosunshine · 05-25-2008, 08:16 AM

Yes, George Olds is my great great grandfather. My Dad went to Johns Hopkins and my Mom went to University of Colorado. My Grandmother worked as a mathematician for the army after getting her first math degree from Mount Holyoke, and went back to college at Amherst for an English degree after she retired post-Vietnam.

mythmom · 05-25-2008, 10:41 AM

Other relatives help in the admissions process too, because adcoms are thinking about yield as well, as a student is more likely to choose a school relatives attended.

insaneabd · 05-25-2008, 11:30 AM

there might also be the factor of 'fit'... if so many from your family have attended the college, you will probably be off the same mould...

hellosunshine · 05-26-2008, 02:45 AM

I think that will probably end up being the case. I'm incredibly similar to my Dad's family (Amherst side) and incredibly dissimilar to my Mom's side. All of my dad's family attended boarding school on scholarship, and I, will now be attending boarding school in the fall. So far in my life I appear to be from the same mold, and every time I've been to Amherst to visit my cousins, it's felt quit right, so hopefully it all works out when the time comes.

the_hitch_hiker · 05-26-2008, 04:07 AM

I think legacy matters a LOT. That doesn't mean that kids who have them are stupid...and I'm sure you'll prove yourself in HS so no one can say 'oh she has that legacy-thing' But having that many relatives in the same college, seems like you're going to make it!

worldlywise247 · 05-26-2008, 08:22 PM

"What you need to remember about legacies is that they are generally better qualified than other candidates, not weaker," said Bill Shain, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Bowdoin College in Maine. "They come from homes that value education, and they've typically [come from] either good schools or good school systems."

that also implies a sort of a monarchy system. the argument that they have been raised for this so they are more deserving is the same that the European monarchies used. and if they students are better qualified then legacies need not be counted because the students will be able to gain admission based on merit