Important Yale Question!

[JaredJones902]

Hey Everyone!!

Hope you are having a great day.

I am a current junior and will apply to SCEA Yale next year. My mother is a fellow at one of the colleges (Saybrook) and she works in the Yale New Haven Hospital, a researcher, and works generally in the medical department. How much will this help?

[YaleGradandDad]

Likely none at all but it will be easier for you to gain familiarity with Yale to write and answer “why Yale?” questions more effectively.

[gibby]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/education/edlife/the-other-legacies-fac-brats.html

In fact, children of faculty and staff get an edge at most institutions, even the most selective.

At Yale, a connection also counts. “Affiliation with Yale is among many factors, such as geographic location and race, that may be considered in the application process,” says a spokesman, Thomas Conroy, who declines to provide the number of students who are faculty and staff offspring.

Based on the above NY Times article, I would think Yale would consider you a legacy applicant. That said, being a legacy is a mixed blessing – yes, you have a leg up in the process, but legacies are often held to a HIGHER standard: https://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/legacy-2/comment-page-4/

“We turn away 80 percent of our legacies, and we feel it every day,” Mr. Brenzel said, adding that he rejected more offspring of the school’s Sterling donors than he accepted this year (Sterling donors are among the most generous contributors to Yale). He argued that legacies scored 20 points higher on the SAT than the rest of the class as a whole.

Mr. Brenzel made the case that low-income students represented an increasing size of Yale’s undergraduate class, even though they had less of a track record of success at the university. About 14 percent of the incoming class is supported by Pell Grant students, he said, saying that with respect to preferences, “the trend is down for legacy and up for underrepresented minorities.”

[CIEE83]

Direct quote from a Yale admissions officer: “Being the child of a Yale alum helps – a little. And being the child of a Yale employee helps – a little.” If your mother works for Yale University, be sure to specify that in your application. If she is an employee of Yale-New Haven Hospital, doubt that will help, as it’s not part of the University. Can’t imagine that being a residential college fellow would matter, but I’m not an admissions officer.

[YoHoYoHo]

My guesstimate:
It will help a little. (I’m not sure what a fellow is at a RC). If she knows anyone on the admissions committee, it will help a lot.
Definitely mention it in your application. And see if she can become a “recognizable acquaintance” with someone on the admissions committee.

[reuynshard]

^ That might very well backfire if it seems like you’re trying to curry favors with the admissions officers

[BKSquared]

In this past year’s Yale supplement to the Common App, they ask whether any of your grandparents attended Yale University (they will get any parental affiliation from the Common App section asking about parental background) and they ask if any relatives have worked for Yale University. They wouldn’t ask for this information unless it somehow factored in the process. So, your mom’s affiliation would be a plus. However, I suspect there are different levels of pluses. Being a child of a tenured professor or senior administrator is probably going to carry more weight than being a child of someone who works at the hospital. I also don’t think being a “fellow” of a residential college carries significant weight unless the fellow is a known and active contributor to the college to the extent that someone like the Master/Head/Dean of Saybrook is willing to be an advocate with the AO. Bottom line, the success of your application will depend on the factors that all candidates will be judged on. Your affiliation would be a small (probably very small) plus. Good luck next year!