- Joined
- Nov 4, 2017
- Messages
- 101
- Reaction score
- 183
I'm wondering if just being the child of a former medical student somewhere would do anything, or if it only really matters if they donate.
Does legacy status only help if your parents are donors?
- Thread starter DocKoozmin
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2017
- Messages
- 195
- Reaction score
- 346
For some schools it may matter regardless. I remember multiple schools that ask if you have any connections to the institution (USC, Penn for instance).
I think they largely ask this to get a sense of how strong your interest is. If your parent went there, the school may feel that you’re applying because you know the school and see yourself as a good fit, even if you grew up across the country or something. And for a school like USC, they have extremely strong allegiances to alumni
Now, I think usually this would help in the sense that it would make you seem like not another random applicant. An adcom might read your app with greater attention— but the rest would be on you.
But if your parent donates a significant amount and contributes to the school in substantive ways, then I think it would actively boost your application to the school.
I think they largely ask this to get a sense of how strong your interest is. If your parent went there, the school may feel that you’re applying because you know the school and see yourself as a good fit, even if you grew up across the country or something. And for a school like USC, they have extremely strong allegiances to alumni
Now, I think usually this would help in the sense that it would make you seem like not another random applicant. An adcom might read your app with greater attention— but the rest would be on you.
But if your parent donates a significant amount and contributes to the school in substantive ways, then I think it would actively boost your application to the school.
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2006
- Messages
- 35,429
- Reaction score
- 15,401
No doubt this varies by institution and by individual adcomm member, but I will tell an N=1 story about an SDNer who interviewed at the med school both parents had attended and was confronted by an interviewer about why his parents had not been donating. Like it was the interviewee's choice, or even something he would be aware of, but it does tell us that it isn't impossible that past charitable contributions might be reviewed.
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2018
- Messages
- 457
- Reaction score
- 882
Two of my advisees this year will be attending two different T20 schools where they had a parent or both parents attend. And they were the only advisees who had anyone in medicine in their family, as most of the people with whom I work have few resources (money or parental help).
One of the two only got 2 interviews and ultimately only one acceptance, and the acceptance was where BOTH parents had gone. And they were NOT donors.
Our school does ask if parents went there or work there. It may give the legacy student a slight bump for getting invited to an interview, but unlikely that the adcoms who interview the applicant would care at all. Once the applicant gets an interview, they need to impress the interviewer more than most of the other great applicants, or that interviewer is just not going to advocate for them in committee.
One of the two only got 2 interviews and ultimately only one acceptance, and the acceptance was where BOTH parents had gone. And they were NOT donors.
Our school does ask if parents went there or work there. It may give the legacy student a slight bump for getting invited to an interview, but unlikely that the adcoms who interview the applicant would care at all. Once the applicant gets an interview, they need to impress the interviewer more than most of the other great applicants, or that interviewer is just not going to advocate for them in committee.
Last edited:
