Definition of "legacy" at Cornell

gmom16
Sat, 10 Jun 2023 21:05:32 +0000

My daughter applied for this cycle. She is a double legacy. Both husband and I attended as undergraduates and are heavily involved alumni, even started a local business in Ithaca to maintain ties with the community. She is a very strong student, top of her class, had excellent standardized test scores. Applied ED and was deferred. Got waitlisted in March. In mid-April she was offered a spot off the waitlist but chose to go with another school that she felt valued merit more.

I’ve actually heard from people we know in various positions that legacy probably worked against her. It’s not what it used to be years ago. There were two students at her school that were accepted who had nowhere near the grades she had, didn’t even make honor society, were not legacies, and didn’t take all the hard classes that she did. Yet, they got in. So in our case, legacy meant nothing, and we believe was a disservice to her.