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University of Southern California (USC) Legacy Policies and Guide

The University of Southern California (USC) is a private research university located in Los Angeles, CA. Students who want to study business, communications, and film are drawn to this school, and it’s known for having a robust campus culture and a real work-hard, play-hard vibe. If you’re reading this, though, you probably know this, because one (or both!) of your parents went to USC, and you want to go there too.

University of Pennsylvania Legacy Policies and Guide

The University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, is a top-tier American university and member of the famed Ivy League. The University offers one of the only undergraduate business programs of the Ivy League, and certainly the most iconic nationally. Rooted in Philadelphia, the Penn experience is dynamic, intense, and famously full of opportunities to push oneself beyond perceived limitations. Penn puts it well: “Penn is a place for people who want to do something big.” It’s unsurprising, then, that they get a lot of love. Penn received 65,236 applications for the Class of 2028, and offered admission to 5%, or 3,523. For the Class of 2029, it got even more competitive. Penn received 72,000 applications. While they have not released the acceptance rate, it was almost certainly less than 5%.

The University of Michigan Legacy Policies and Guide

The University of Michigan is regularly ranked in the top 5 public universities in the United States. The undergraduate program offers top-tier academic programs alongside an iconic on-campus culture. Mich has always been popular within the state of Michigan, with a little over 50% of first-years coming from the state, but it has also become extremely popular for out-of-state applicants. This has driven the acceptance rate down to 15.6%. However, if an applicant is not living in Michigan the acceptance rate is still misleading. Because the in-state acceptance rate can be assumed to be much higher than that for out-of-state students (they don’t actually report it), it skews the average. In reality, getting into Mich from outside of Michigan is like getting into an Ivy League university.

Vanderbilt Legacy Policies and Guide

Located in the Music City (Nashville, TN, for the uninitiated), Vanderbilt University is a private research university that was founded in the wake of the Civil War by railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. The school is extremely popular with students looking for a work-hard, play-hard environment and with students who want to study business or law, and has become incredibly competitive over the last few years. In 2024, their regular decision acceptance rate was 3.7%, and their ED acceptance rate was 15.2%. But if you’re here, you probably know at least some of this, because one (or both) of your parents went to Vanderbilt and you’re looking to follow in their footsteps.

Duke Legacy Policies and Guide

Duke is a highly respected research university in Durham, North Carolina. The top five majors at Duke are Computer Science, Economics, Biology, Public Policy, and Psychology, and students are drawn to the university by the strong community culture paired with exceptional research opportunities. The experience is in high demand. They receive over 50,000 first-year applications annually, and the acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was only 5.4%. As a prospective legacy applicant, it’s possible that you already have a favorite spot on campus. Now, though, you need to get in.

Yale Legacy Policies and Guide

Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, is one of the eight Ivies, the third-oldest college in the US, and one of the nine schools founded before the American Revolution. In a word: storied. Yale is extremely popular with Ivy League hopefuls and extremely competitive – last cycle, they had a 3.9% acceptance rate. However, if you’re reading this, we assume you know this. You’re here because a parent (or both!) went to Yale and you want to follow in their footsteps. Let’s talk about it.

MIT Legacy Policies and Guide

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is an exceptional university, and an iconic school for students looking to go into the STEM fields. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT is also located in a hotbed of academic excellence, rubbing shoulders (and crossing paths) with Harvard. The overall acceptance rate for the Class of 2028 was a mere 4.5%. Students who attend MIT are best known for launching careers in technology, engineering, mathematics, and the sciences, and an MIT degree is recognized as a spot in the fast lane to professional success.  

Columbia University Legacy Policies and Guide

Columbia University in New York City is one of the most famous schools in the Ivy League. They’re most known for the Columbia Core, which means students who want a true liberal arts education are probably drawn to this school like moths to a flame. But if you’re here, you’re not just drawn to the academics or culture or location, you’re drawn to it because you have a personal connection to the school.

Top 41 Schools That Don’t Have Legacy Admissions

Since the SCOTUS decision that ended affirmative action, legacy admission has caused a lot of consternation. One notable report by Raj Chetty, David J. Deming (both Harvard) and John N. Friedman (Brown University) revealed that kids from the richest one percent of American families are more than twice as likely to attend the country’s most elite private universities compared to middle-class students with similar test scores.  Experts have also said the abolition of legacy admission could transform the entire college admissions process completely. 

College Admissions Changes: Legacy Admissions

Admissions have changed a lot in the last few years, but we’re about to see a whole new wave of changes crash into some of our nation’s oldest institutions. If you’re reading this, we’re sure you know about the Supreme Court decision that banned schools from using race as a factor in college admissions in late June. This started a lot of discourse about race and privilege in admissions, which then of course led to discourse about legacy admissions. In the wake of the lawsuit, Wesleyan University announced they’re ditching the practice, but it didn’t end there. Last month, a new group of students announced a lawsuit against the college everyone loves to sue, Harvard – this time calling for an end to legacy admissions.

UC Schools Legacy Strategy

Maybe your legacy student is dreaming of going to Haas, a UCLA cluster, or even Film School at Santa Cruz. You might be wondering, “will my alumni status help them get into a UC?” It's a question we hear from parents all the time, especially when it comes to UC Berkeley and Los Angeles. So we wanted to break down what legacy means (and doesn’t mean) when applying to top UC schools.

Stanford Legacy Strategy

“Will being a legacy help them get into Stanford?” It’s a question we hear all the time from parents. It feels like it should be an easy “yes or no” answer, but it’s actually a little more complicated than that, especially for top schools like Stanford. Since it's a complex question, we wanted to break down the ins and outs of Stanford legacy admissions and what your legacy needs to get in.

USC Legacy Strategy

“Will being a SCion help them get in?” It’s a question we get a lot from USC alumni parents. For those not in the know, ‘SCion’ is the term that USC uses for legacies and the children of donors. The short answer is that yes, it will help but probably not as much as you think. Legacy admissions are more complicated than the easy-in that many alumni parents expect them to be. So, we wanted to break down all the complex ins and out of legacy admissions at USC.

Dartmouth Legacy Strategy

Dartmouth was the first college to have a legacy admissions policy in 1922. It has been over 100 years and many legacy students still apply to Dartmouth every year. A lot has changed since 1922 but legacy admissions are still a difficult-to-understand “field.” We constantly talk to parents who are confused by legacy admissions and what it means for their students, so today we wanted to break down everything we know about Dartmouth legacy admissions and what parents need to do if their legacy is dreaming of Dartmouth.

Columbia Legacy Strategy

"Of course, my kid will go to Columbia, he's a legacy!" We hear this from parents probably every week. We work with a lot of Ivy League legacies. We hate to break it to you, but just being a legacy isn't the boost that many parents believe it is. Legacy admissions are cloaked in secrecy on purpose, so today we want to demystify legacy admissions at Columbia and what your legacy student needs to get in.

Brown Legacy Strategy

Brown is kind of always having a moment. It's gotten even more popular than some of the other Ivies recently. In turn, this has driven down its already competitive acceptance rate. Right now, its acceptance rate sits at about 5%. It's harder than ever to get into Brown, but many alumni parents talk like their students will 100% get in because they are “legacies.” This always makes us a bit, to use an SAT word, ~trepidacious~. Legacy admissions are complex, secretive by design, and not the lock that many parents believe they are. So today we want to talk about what legacy admissions actually look like at Brown and what legacies can do as candidates to help stack their decks.

Duke Legacy Strategy

We work with a lot of legacies every year and every year we have to explain to parents that legacy isn't the make or break at top schools like Duke. What do we mean by this? Well, a lot of parents we work with think that just because their student is a legacy, it means they will get in. However, that isn't true. Colleges don't talk very openly about legacy admissions and that leaves parents in the dark, so we wanted to break down what is really going on with legacy admissions at Duke and what you can do to get your legacy in.

Cornell Legacy Strategy

All schools are at least a little secretive about legacy admissions. They don’t give exact facts or figures, but you might get some hints at information. Cornell is more secretive than most. They publish almost nothing about legacy admissions or their policies around it. This is why we get a little cautious when alumni parents start saying things like “oh course my kid will get into Cornell, they are a legacy!” We understand why parents think this, but especially at a super secretive school like Cornell, it isn’t backed up by data. So we wanted to break down everything Cornell has said about admissions and what in, our professional opinion, is your student’s best shot at getting in.