@crowlady The pool table was one of the things on our college admission tour bingo card. We knew that there was likely a decent community of math/physics people when there was a pool table.
We also had “collaborative, not competitive” and “the food is good” on our card, plus some weird tradition about only walking through a certain set of gates backwards or something like that.
@ReminiscingDad Most ivies claim their FA offices are separate from their admissions and work independently of each other. Based on that, we have to assume you could get mail from FA office independent of the admission decision.
@ReminiscingDad - yes I think my DS is leaning more toward P than M. A big part of it is the Jewish community being so much bigger at P. But M has lots of great things, too, obviously. Both money and location are better at M, but neither by a huge enough margin to tip the scales. P has more humanities options that are very appealing.
But there are days when M seems to be winning, like the day that the Cylinder arrived, along with a welcoming letter from the alumni/ae association to me and DH reassuring us that M is even more wonderful now than it was in the olden days and here is why…and you already know that we were pretty excited about how easy travel will be to CPW. And certainly, I adored the M culture and all aspects of belonging in it. But my DH less so, and I don’t know if it’s because of gender or personality.
On our snowy day early in the week, I came home to “MIT” carved in the snow and I think it was my DS, but it could have been a brother, a husband, or a neighbor, all of whom have expressed pro-M opinions. 
Yet the orange shirt got a wearing this afternoon.
And days when M annoys me for various reasons…and the meta-reason that I know too much about it and if DS goes there, will it be too inbred for our family and not enough like his own journey?
And a few people told me that P does do sibling legacy, which is something perhaps to think about in the “plus” column.
My father told us that there’s no wrong decision, which I felt was a big relief to hear, though I guess I could have figured it out myself!
@ReminiscingDad I am one who prefers to not look too much into things like that; however, at this late in the game, it could kind of mean something. Be cautiously optimistic that your S has made it far into the process, hopefully all the way!
I don’t think it’s far-fetched, though, your S already has a LL from Cornell and really good options from selective universities/programs. I wouldn’t be surprised at all. Good luck! Crossing my fingers :)>-
@ReminiscingDad - I agree with @kittymom1102 that the letter MIGHT be something good because at least they hadn’t excluded your son at that point! And you know he got the awesome news from BK at UMD and from Cornell, so he’s clearly in the running.
Also, thanks for the congrats for DS’s friend at Cal!
Regarding my son’s friend and Cal - I just heard that it was new this year, and NOT asked of all students, for LoR to be submitted. Considering that I suspected a letter might have harmed his applications elsewhere…could this be supporting evidence?
thank you @texaspg and @kittymom1102, I will keep a cautiously optimistic mood, since it is a bit odd that a letter in the mail is sent so late in the process.
@fretfulmother great analysis of your son’s top choices. Your dad is very wise, there is no wrong choice for him. I didn’t know about the sibling legacy, and that is really a good plus since your son has younger siblings, a sure benefit for all.
@fretfulmother thank you, we’ll see what March 31st brings us…
regarding your son’s friend, the LoR request might indicate the need for a tie breaker if the two others were discordant. I read that before (I think in Michele Hernandez’ book)…
Sibling legacy was the first thought that crossed my DD’s mind after S’s acceptance to Stanford. She already knows MIT position concerning legacy, which is not such a big issue for her since she is far from clear in terms of fields of interest. She would prefer a school with wonderful options in all fields. Obviously Stanford is a better place for someone like her. She has “jokingly” brought it up to her brother a couple of times already. Although, being the loving sister she is, she wants her brother to go wherever his heart is.
@ReminiscingDad - I think it’s possible that he was never asked for a letter, and it clearly states on Cal’s site that they ONLY look at letters solicited in their own system, regardless of the fact that Naviance may have sent them some other way.
@fretfulmother oh! I see, my confusion, sorry
@kittymom1102 - “Sibling legacy was the first thought that crossed my DD’s mind after S’s acceptance to Stanford”…Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it won’t make a bit of difference at Stanford. They are really not very pro-alum connections either and there has been plenty of grousing about that stance. That connection would be much more beneficial at many other colleges. She will have to make it into Stanford on her own merits, and heaven only knows what the admit rate will be by then! What year will she graduate? Sounds like your son has found his match at MIT and if the money is a wash, that is great. No pressure to look further. Congratulations!
@critter I’ll pass the message along. It seems that she will be doomed either way. MIT is very upfront about no legacy, just ask @fretfulmother and neither Stanford. She will have to do just as her brother did, work her behind off like a mad young lady ! ! She is in 8th grade right now, so that will put the acceptance rate at ~1% when her turn arrives 
Is Princeton the only university that counts sibling legacy?
@critter You know what, Stanford is starting to look good too
@kittymom1102 - Based on our experience, no. As much as I think your son should just get on with it and go to S, it probably won’t help his little sis.
@critter I can’t see it hurting her. At least she will have more to talk about in her essays! So, going back to Princeton, is P the only school that gives siblings a boost? I share @fretfulmother thinking about the future of siblings
A mother has to think about all her little ones
@kittymom1102 - I don’t even know for sure if P does give sibs a boost, but someone told me it does. Actually, I thought Stanford did as well, considering that a guy got in that I know this year, and I really think it must have been a boost from an older sibling because this fellow was not exceptional compared to some other kids from the same school who were denied, in my opinion. However, I will say that he was a stellar athlete and applied REA, so perhaps that was the difference.
I heard that Harvard gives sibs legacy treatment, but now I’m not sure where I heard that. I tried searching and there are specific threads on CC for Cornell, Brown, Georgetown and Claremont McKenna with a variety of opinions expressed, mostly falling on the side of “yes” for sib legacy.
@fretfulmother Thank you for the info. I really don’t know how the legacy thing works outside active (and rich) alumni. However, I do believe that competent applicants with alumni parents/siblings are more knowledgeable about the institution, which in turn helps them write more compelling and persuasive essays. They know the institution more. My suspicion is that if schools didn’t care about legacy, they wouldn’t ask for associations. Of course, legacy/association won’t make up for sub-par applicant/application, but I can’t see it counting against a good, competent applicant.
Speaking of hooks, I rarely hear CC folk mention the hook that selective schools grant the children of their tenured professors. I recall hearing that some top schools don’t see these faculty kids as hooked, but others do. Can’t remember which schools, however.
@dyiu13 I can’t see how being the child of a Prof. can hurt, all things being equal and the applicant is qualified. Again, if they don’t care, why asking then?