If my mom graduated and recieved a scholorship to a university that I want to attend will it help me get in?

Question

I have a 3.3 GPA so i am not by any means banking on this to help. Would it also help that i am from the east coast and want to attend a west coast school?

Answer 1

Hey BoSox!

The answer to your question depends on the particular university that you're applying to.

Situations where the children of alumni receive admissions preference are known as "legacy" admissions. I suspect that some schools will consider "legacy" as one of many admissions determinants, but I also suspect that it has very, very little influence on the admissions decision at most of those schools.

Legacy admissions remain a traditional practice at a few of the Ivy Leagues and other elite schools, but other top-tier schools have explicitly abandoned the practice, often under pressure from the faculty and the academic community.

At best, a legacy will get your application a "second look" if you're "on the bubble" when the school is evaluating its last few admissions decisions. Even the schools that most openly practice legacy admissions will not accept an applicant who falls well short of being an otherwise competitive candidate.

As for your question about "diversity" - every "national" school tries to admit a student body with significant geographic diversity, but you can trust that well-known schools have no difficulty attracting applications from students from all over the US. I would not rely on your being an "east coaster" to create much of a boost in your application chances.

Chances are, you'll be admitted or rejected at this school on the basis of how closely your credentials match the university's admissions criteria.

I hope that helped - good luck!