I just found out that my brother got accepted into Princeton. Does that mean I'm a legacy now? Do sibling legacies count? The funny thing is, his dream school was UPenn; he applied Early Decision and got rejected. My dream school is Princeton, and he miraculously got into that one! (He was rejected at Penn, Harvard, waitlisted at Columbia and Yale) Don't legacies give you a slight edge in admissions? And doesn't Princeton really favor legacies? I'm just wondering...I'm new to all of this crazy college stuff. I hope to go to Princeton though!
I don't think siblings count as legacies. My sister is a Dartmouth grad, class of '08, and I toured their campus when I attended her graduation. The adcom rep (a student) said she didn't think I was a legacy. I applied that fall and was rejected. Sorry to bear bad news, but even if you don't get into Princeton you'll find other fantastic places where you can be successful and happy. Keep an open mind and good luck!
If I'm not mistaken, having a sibling attend/who did attend does help in admissions a little bit (assuming you're already qualified in other regards). If you're accepted, they believe that the fact that a sibling of yours went there will make you more ready to attend.
I agree with scrivener. If you are otherwise a highly qualified candidate, having a sibling already at Princeton is helpful in the admissions process. At some point the Adcoms need to narrow that list of super qualified candidates, and having a sibling already at the school will likely keep you on the list. Our DS is currently a student and when DD applied, already a highly qualified candidate, she was accepted! Would she have otherwise? Maybe, but if you read CC regularly you know there are MANY stories of amazing kids not getting in. So, fireonice, work hard and you might be a Tiger some day, too!
If it's worth anything, I get the sense there are many siblings at Princeton. Whether that's because of some direct advantage, because they're also legacies and that's why both kids got in and decided they loved it enough to go, or because sibs likely went to equally high-achieving schools, I can't say.
Not to beat a dead horse, but yeah, siblings don't make you a legacy. The word itself implies a generational aspect to the whole thing. You are a legacy if either your mother or father graduated from Princeton. I think they give stronger weight to parents who did their undergrad at Princeton, though the children of graduate alum are also legacies. I don't think even having uncles or aunts or grandparents who went to Princeton makes you a legacy. I would be curious to learn what admissions tells you though, as I can't find the old FAQ they used to have on this subject anymore!
Honestly, the whole legacy thing is bogus and I wish colleges would get rid of it. Affirmative action for rich people.
That said, there were some siblings at Princeton. I doubt it had much to do with preferential treatment by admissions though.
Princeton is the only ivy league that asks if a sibling attends/attended, so I'm assuming it matters a little. I'm in the same boat as you, my sis goes there.
