Does Semi-Legacy (explained in comments) Help Land an Interview?

[Happensinvegas]

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My brother went to Drexel for his undergrad and did very well there. My parents also payed for his tuition in full while he was there. I was wondering if having my brother be a Drexel Alumni (although not from med school), and Drexel knowing that my family has invested a lot of money in the school, help me land an interview assuming my Stats are just average for the med school.

 

[Goro]

Med school, maybe. Undergrad? Doubt it. Keep in mind that most legacy interviews lead to polite, permanent wait list positions.

 

[NickNaylor]

I doubt anyone will care.

 

[22031 Alum]

The med school won't care one bit that your brother went to some other division of the university. And your parents didn't make a contribution, they paid tuition. "Investments" like you mean are the kind that get your family's name on a building.

 

[nwts]

I feel like the only possible benefit that holds is if you live in an area or go to a school where tons of people apply to Drexel, and lots of them do it just because everyone else is doing it. The fact that your brother went there may help you make the case that you actually want to go to Drexel, and you're not just fishing for any acceptance you can get.

Disclaimer: I might be just hopeful because I am in a similar situation. My grandfather, both of my parents, and my only sibling all went to XYZ University for their undergrad, and this particular university has a medical school. I'm applying to that school, and it is my top choice. However, at the undergraduate school I go to (not XYZ University), a bunch of people apply to the XYZ medical school every year, and XYZ gives a ton of acceptance letters to students from my school every year. This sounds awesome, but the issue in practice is that all the students at my school know that XYZ gives lots of acceptances to students from my school, so a ton of people apply without any real interest, just fishing for any acceptance they can get. I am aware that any applicant from my school to XYZ medical school is automatically under suspicion of just going acceptance letter fishing without any real interest, so I know that any applicant from my school has to distinguish himself/herself as actually having an interest in the school. While I know secondaries are the place to do this, talk is cheap and anyone can mess around on a school's website for a few hours and find something to talk about. I'm hoping that the fact that all of my immediate family members and one of my grandparents are alumni will be a nice additional way for this school to understand that I'm actually interested and not just acceptance fishing.

 

[LizzyM]

I feel like the only possible benefit that holds is if you live in an area or go to a school where tons of people apply to Drexel, and lots of them do it just because everyone else is doing it. The fact that your brother went there may help you make the case that you actually want to go to Drexel, and you're not just fishing for any acceptance you can get.

Disclaimer: I might be just hopeful because I am in a similar situation. My grandfather, both of my parents, and my only sibling all went to XYZ University for their undergrad, and this particular university has a medical school. I'm applying to that school, and it is my top choice. However, at the undergraduate school I go to (not XYZ University), a bunch of people apply to the XYZ medical school every year, and XYZ gives a ton of acceptance letters to students from my school every year. This sounds awesome, but the issue in practice is that all the students at my school know that XYZ gives lots of acceptances to students from my school, so a ton of people apply without any real interest, just fishing for any acceptance they can get. I am aware that any applicant from my school to XYZ medical school is automatically under suspicion of just going acceptance letter fishing without any real interest, so I know that any applicant from my school has to distinguish himself/herself as actually having an interest in the school. While I know secondaries are the place to do this, talk is cheap and anyone can mess around on a school's website for a few hours and find something to talk about. I'm hoping that the fact that all of my immediate family members and one of my grandparents are alumni will be a nice additional way for this school to understand that I'm actually interested and not just acceptance fishing.

If you can work, "cut us and we bleed {school color}" into your secondary you'll be golden unless your family are Harvard alumni because bleeding crimson is nothing special. 🙄

this will not give you a huge bump but might be the equivalent of adding 0.01 to your GPA. 😉

 

[Ad2b]

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[nwts]

If you can work, "cut us and we bleed {school color}" into your secondary you'll be golden unless your family are Harvard alumni because bleeding crimson is nothing special. 🙄

this will not give you a huge bump but might be the equivalent of adding 0.01 to your GPA. 😉

I definitely won't be viewing my legacy status as any sort of deciding factor, I'm just hoping to use it as a more convincing way to indicate that I actually do have an interest in this school (a bunch of interest, actually), and I don't just see an acceptance letter from this school as low-hanging fruit. I'm planning to write in my secondaries about conversations I've had with my mother many times while growing up about how her education at this university shaped who she is, and how the qualities she describes in this university are exactly what I want in a school. I'm also hoping that the fact that I've taken 8 courses at this school might add a little more to my case that this is a school I am very seriously interested in.

I guess I'm just paranoid about showing interest because I frequently hear classmates saying: "Just apply to XYZ, you'll definitely get in there." I'm always thinking: "No, they are very selective, just as every other medical school is! And they are not just a back-up option to pursue if you can't get in anywhere else, they have a wonderful program, and I would pick them over any other school in the country!"

 

[NickNaylor]

I definitely won't be viewing my legacy status as any sort of deciding factor, I'm just hoping to use it as a more convincing way to indicate that I actually do have an interest in this school (a bunch of interest, actually), and I don't just see an acceptance letter from this school as low-hanging fruit. I'm planning to write in my secondaries about conversations I've had with my mother many times while growing up about how her education at this university shaped who she is, and how the qualities she describes in this university are exactly what I want in a school. I'm also hoping that the fact that I've taken 8 courses at this school might add a little more to my case that this is a school I am very seriously interested in.

I guess I'm just paranoid about showing interest because I frequently hear classmates saying: "Just apply to XYZ, you'll definitely get in there." I'm always thinking: "No, they are very selective, just as every other medical school is! And they are not just a back-up option to pursue if you can't get in anywhere else, they have a wonderful program, and I would pick them over any other school in the country!"

I would focus less on the fact that people you knew went to the school and more on what you expect to take away from that institution and what you can offer them.

 

[LizzyM]

It doesn't hurt to pour over a few issues of the alumni magazine and say that you have done so and that you are impressed by x y z, that you recognize the fine education that your family members have received and you hope to have the save privilege.

 

[nwts]

I would focus less on the fact that people you knew went to the school and more on what you expect to take away from that institution and what you can offer them.

I don't plan to make my legacy status a big focus of my secondary; I just plan to mention it. I just feel like showing that you are genuinely interested in a school on your secondary is getting harder as the internet becomes a more powerful tool. All it really takes to write a decent "Why XYZ?" essay is a couple hours on their website to identify unique programs and philosophies. While doing this indicates that you at least care enough to invest a couple hours into their school, that still doesn't seem like very much, especially when everyone at my undergrad knows that they have to at least put in a token hour or two of research in order to be not completely transparent about having little interest in the school and just seeing it as an easy acceptance. I feel like I have to work harder than the average applicant to show interest because I am already one of the applicants who would likely be suspected of just throwing an application at XYZ without actually desiring to go there, but perhaps I'm just becoming a neurotic pre-med.

@LizzyM Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[Grace184]

this goes back to the never ending question: did your parents donate a wing to Drexel? A library? Perhaps a bench?

If not? Then you are just like every other pre med whose sibling went to undergrad there. Drexel still got their money from all of them, regardless if your mom and dad paid out of pocket.

 

[deleted577188]

Don't feel entitled. As someone mentioned above, your family paid tuition like the othe 25,000 students there. Drexel could care less if you pay with loans, scholarships or cash, just as long as they get their money.

 

[Ad2b]

I think the use of legacy is being misunderstood by many (including me at first). From Dictionary.com: an applicant to or student at a school that was attended by his or her parent.

I think the OP means that she/he would like to use the knowledge she/he has from other family members having attended the school. Given that knowledge and some classes taken there, she/he is very interested in going to medical school there.

If that is the case, as LizzyM and a few others suggested it is entirely appropriate to use that in a secondary or interview... "Gosh, every time I was here it just kept reinforcing how much I love the xyz about Drexel."

No harm in that. It's something we ALL do for the schools of our choice, isn't it?