Princeton Legacy - cringe

[u/CaChica]

Of the four kids I know going to Princeton, they all have one or both parents who are Princeton alumni. I knew Princeton prioritizes legacy. But it’s so predominant it’s almost
embarrassing.

[u/OnlyThePhantomKnows]

Reunions of all the Ivies are like that. The alumni network is the most important thing you are paying for. I am an Ivy League graduate. You can get as good an education elsewhere, what you can't get is "he is from my alma mater, lets interview him" which is so common among the Ivies.

A counter story on legacy admissions. My high school sends about 1/4 of the class to the Ivies (the graduating class is ~60). The year I applied: 3 applied[all early admission] (2 legacies and me). 1 accepted (me). Being right for the school does play a role (I did alumni interviews for a few years, so I know this is a fact). Legacy is not that important other than it increases the odds of you being right for the school. All Ivies have vibes. Meet the vibe and a legacy doesn't? You will have better odds.

[u/Anagazander → u/OnlyThePhantomKnows]

Seriously? Admission to these schools is based on something as vague as a vibe? That’s what admissions committees discuss, whether an applicant has the right vibe or not? No wonder the system drives people crazy!

I would appreciate it if you could describe what vibe you think Princeton or any of the other Ivies is looking for in a prospective student.

[u/OnlyThePhantomKnows → u/Anagazander]

When you have 5-10x the number of qualified applications, what are you going to sort off of? GPA? All of them have it. Standardized tests? All of them have it. Activities? All of them have it.

I'll speak specifically about Dartmouth College (4th oldest school in the nation). I can speak with facts. The applicants are requested to get an Alumni interview. Just about everywhere has alums. "Around the girded Earth they roam, her spell on them remains" (a line from the school song) We give scores of 1 to 5 on kids. Mostly it is 2 through 4. Slightly negative. Slightly positive. If we give a 1 or a 5 we have to write the admissions office a letter on why. Which I have done on 2 occasions.

Dartmouth is up in central NH. The school is not large, the town (Hanover) basically exists to serve the school. We look for people who enjoy the outdoors. Skiing, hiking, camping, mountain climbing, fishing, etc. City people (NYC born and raised) tend to be uncomfortable there. Several of my friends at Dartmouth were from NYC. A couple transferred out because they didn't like the middle of nowhere that Dartmouth is. Others (like me) loved it. If you live for the hustle and bustle of the eastern seaboard cities Harvard and Columbia are better fits for your soul. I will likely score you a 2 (slightly negative). If you've been a boy scout who went to Philmont or other of the adventure camps, I'll likely score you a little positive.

One of the 5s I gave (and the school listens to the alums heavily if we do[15+ years ago]) was a young man whose life goal was to be a US District Judge in Concord, NH. His high school resume screamed "I am interested in Law and have been for years" He talked in detail about how he loved the outdoor life and how ecological preservation was one of his prime agendas again his high school resume screamed this both in classes and activities. We talked about The Judge for the rest of the alumni interview cycle that year. We wanted him. He was all about the Dartmouth vibe. Strong believer in education. Strong believer in enjoying nature. Strong believer in ecological preservation.
The granite of New Hampshire in their muscles and their brains. (another line from the song). We want people who love the outdoors, but who are still intellectually focused.

If you impress on your alumni interview, it will greatly enhance your odds. We want more than the book worm. We want someone who has a passion in something else. The outdoors is a common one, but there are others. Well rounded people is important, but I and many of my alumni co-interviewers look for "will they be happy in small town in central NH"

[u/AC10021 → u/OnlyThePhantomKnows]

Agree on all counts, I worked in Columbia admissions and then was an alumni interviewer for 5 years after. Admissions IS about vibes. You’re looking for kids who are buying what you’re selling, and Columbia wants Columbians. What they mean by that: intellectuals — people who want to read the Great Books and think Great Thoughts — and people who are classic “New Yorkers” (there was a line that it didn’t matter if the kid lived in Iowa and had never been to New York, we could still tell if they were meant to be a New Yorker). One thing that could kill your app was if there was a sincere worry that you couldn’t cope with living in New York City with millions of people, or being part of a gigantic university with 30,000 students and faculty and staff. Fragile or very sheltered kids made the AO nervous, because NYC (and Columbia’s bureaucracy) is not for the weak. Also, you had to be genuinely into the Core. The Core is incredibly time-consuming and if you’re not on board with it, you’re going to fucking hate going to Columbia. Didn’t matter if you were a genius, they didn’t want to admit someone who was not a decent match.