The Family Tree May be the Next Leaf to Fall in College Admissions

Legacy admissions offer preferential consideration to students seeking admission at an institution if the applicant’s parents or relatives attended the same institution. The prospective student, or the “legacy” will often see an increase of admissions odds if they have legacy connection. While most institutions practice some form of legacy admission, this connection can significantly benefit applicants at highly selective institutions. While this can certainly be exciting for students with legacy connections, this practice can hold controversy as sometimes students who are legacies at a college or university can have an easier time with admissions and acceptances than applicants who are not legacies. For example, a legacy applicant and a non-legacy applicant could have comparable credentials for admission, and the legacy applicant already has an advantage over the non-legacy applicant. 

In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action during the college admissions process, legacy admissions are now increasingly being called into light. In fact, there have already been multiple lawsuits filed over this controversial practice. At Harvard, a civil rights group has filed a lawsuit against the university, stating that legacy admissions are discriminatory as Harvard has a predominantly white alumni network. The suit states that this gives an unfair advantage to mostly white applicants, which contradicts the Supreme Court decision to remove race as an admissions factor. 

As we continue to see more debate around the college admissions process and the consideration of legacy applicant status, it is possible that more educational institutions will revise their legacy protocol in the coming admission cycles. Some colleges only allow for students to declare legacy status if their parents or grandparents attended the institution, while others allow for legacy status to stretch all the way to cousins, nieces, and great great great grandparents. That being said, some colleges could narrow down legacy status from extended family to immediate family members like parents and siblings, while others could do away with legacy admission entirely. 

We have reviewed current legacy information for this newest admission cycle which began on August 1, 2023.  Below is a list of some of our students most applied to universities and what Common Application colleges and universities are inquiring about legacy status in the Family section of their admissions questions and which familial relations are considered valid for legacy status:

Alabama

University of Alabama: Yes (parents, grandparents, or guardian)

Auburn University: Yes (parent, grandparent, or sibling)

Arizona

University of Arizona: No

California

Loyola Marymount University: Yes (parents, grandparents, siblings)

Stanford University: Yes (any relative)

University of Southern California: Yes (parent, grandparent, sibling)

Colorado

University of Colorado Boulder: No

Colorado College: Yes (parent, sibling, stepsibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin)

Colorado State University: Yes (any relative)

University of Denver: Yes (any relative)

Connecticut

University of Connecticut: Yes (any relative)

Yale University: Yes (parent, grandparent, legal guardian, sibling, stepparent)

District of Columbia

The George Washington University: Yes (any relative)

Florida

University of Florida: Yes (any relative)

Florida State University: No

University of Miami: Yes (any relative)

Rollins College: Yes (any relative)

Georgia

Emory University: Yes (parent or sibling asked first, any other relative in next question)

University of Georgia: Yes (parent/guardian, sibling)

Georgia Institute of Technology: Yes (any relative)

Illinois

University of Chicago: Yes (parent/guardian, sibling)

Northwestern University: Yes (parent, stepparent, guardian, grandparent, sibling)

Indiana

Indiana University: No

University of Notre Dame: Yes (any relative)

Louisiana

Louisiana State University: No

Tulane University: Yes (parent, sibling, grandparent)

Maine

Bates College: Yes (grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, great grandparent, great aunt/uncle, parent, step-parent, sibling)

Bowdoin College: Yes (parent, grandparent, step-parent, guardian, sibling, aunt/uncle, or other relationship) 

Colby College: Yes (grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, sibling, or other type of relative)

Maryland

Johns Hopkins University: Yes (parent step-parent, legal guardian, grandparent or sibling–Question asked for data purposes only and will not be viewed by the admissions counselors or affect the admissions decision)

University of Maryland: Yes (mother or father)

Massachusetts

Amherst College: Yes (parent, grandparent, sibling or aunt/uncle–This information is for data purposes only and will not affect the admission decision)

Babson College: Yes (parent, guardian, sibling, aunt/uncle, grandparent) 

Boston College: Yes (parent, step-parent, or sibling)

Boston University: Yes (parent, sibling, or grandparent)

Emerson College: Yes (grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, parent or sibling)

Harvard University: Yes (parent and sibling)

University of Massachusetts Amherst: No

Northeastern University: Yes (grandparent, parent, sibling)

Tufts University: Yes (parent or sibling)

Williams College: Yes (parent, stepparent, legal guardian, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, or cousin)

Michigan

University of Michigan: Yes (grandparent or sibling)

Mississippi

University of Mississippi: No

New Hampshire

Dartmouth College: Yes (sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle)

New Jersey

Princeton University: Yes (parent, stepparent, guardian, sibling)

New York

Barnard College: Yes (aunt, cousin, grandmother, great aunt, great grandmother, mother, or sister)

Colgate University: Yes (aunt/uncle, cousin, godparent, grandparent, great grandparent, legal guardian, parent, sibling, step aunt/step uncle, step cousin, step grandparent, stepparent, step sibling)

Columbia University: Yes (parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, step-parent, legal guardian)

Cornell University: Yes (parent or grandparent)

Fordham University: No

Hamilton College: Yes (parent, stepparent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin)

Hobart and William Smith Colleges: Yes (parent, stepparent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, sibling, stepsibling)

New York University: No

Skidmore College: Yes (parent, sibling, grandparent, legal guardian, aunt/uncle, cousin)

North Carolina

Davidson College: No

Duke University: Yes (parent, stepparent, grandparent, guardian, or sibling)

Elon University: Yes (parent, stepparent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Yes (parent or stepparent)

North Carolina State University: No

Wake Forest University: Yes (parent, stepparent, or guardian)

Ohio

Case Western Reserve University: Yes (parent, aunt/uncle, cousin, grandparent, great grandparent, sibling)

Denison University: Yes (sibling, parent, grandparent, great grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin)

Miami University (Ohio): Yes (mother, father, sibling, other)

The Ohio State University: No

Oregon

University of Oregon: No

Pennsylvania

Carnegie Mellon University: Yes (parent, grandparent, self)

Haverford College: Yes (aunt/uncle, parent, sibling, grandparent)

Lafayette College: Yes (any relative)

Lehigh University: Yes (parent, grandparent, stepparent, sibling, aunt/uncle)

University of Pennsylvania: Yes (parent, legal guardian, stepparent, grandparent)

Villanova University: Yes (parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt/uncle, cousin)

Rhode Island

Brown University: Yes (parent, legal guardian, sibling)

South Carolina

College of Charleston: Yes (parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt/uncle)

Clemson University: Yes (grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse)

Furman University: Yes (parent, grandparent, sibling)

University of South Carolina: Yes (parent, legal guardian)

Wofford College: Yes (parent, sibling, grandparent, great grandparent, great great grandparent, great great great grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin)

Tennessee

Rhodes College: Yes (sibling, aunt/uncle, parent, cousin, grandparent)

University of the South (Sewanee): Yes (aunt/uncle, parent, sibling, cousin, grandparent)

University of Tennessee Knoxville: Yes (grandparent, sibling, aunt/uncle, or cousin)

Vanderbilt University: Yes (grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, sibling) **other than those listed on the Common Application, so parents are also taken into consideration

Texas

Rice University: Yes (parent, stepparent, grandparent, sibling, aunt/uncle)

Southern Methodist University: Yes (sibling, cousin, grandparent, great grandparent, parent, aunt/uncle)

University of Texas at Austin: No

Texas Christian University: Yes (sibling, stepsibling, grandparent, parent, stepparent, aunt/uncle, cousin)

Utah

University of Utah: Yes (parent or grandparent) **information used for non-resident students wanting to be considered for the Alumni Non-Resident U Tradition Award and Heritage Scholarships

Vermont

Middlebury College: Yes (parent, sibling, stepparent, legal guardian, aunt/uncle, cousin, grandparent)

University of Vermont: No

Virginia

James Madison University: Yes (parent, grandparent, sibling)

University of Richmond: Yes (parent, grandparent, sibling, stepsibling, half-sibling)

University of Virginia: No legacy questionnaire but there is an optional short answer question asking about personal or historical connections with UVA (If you have a personal or historic connection with UVA, and if you’d like to share how your experience of this connection has prepared you to contribute to the University, please share your thoughts here.  Such relationships might include, but are not limited to, being a child of someone who graduated from or works for UVA, a descendant of ancestors who labored at UVA, or a participant in UVA programs.)

Virginia Tech: Yes (parent, stepparent, grandparent, step grandparent, sibling, stepsibling)

Washington and Lee: Yes (parent, sister, brother, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, great-grandparent)

William & Mary: Yes (parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, niece/nephew)
Washington

University of Washington: Freshman application will become available on September 1st

Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Madison: No

Scotland

University of St. Andrews: Yes (any relatives)

Thanks to our fabulous The College Sage summer intern, Lindsey Prus for her compilation and assistance with this blog. Go Tigers!

London Calling. . .Do You Have the Degree?

It is challenging to forget the warm June day that brought the 2016 United Kingdom European Union Membership Referendum, after which popular vote to withdraw from the European Union was first cemented. The prevailing decision of the populace triggered immediate effects within the UK - two being the instantaneous resignation of then-Prime Minister David Cameron, and the Great Britain Pound’s drop to a 31-year low - and sent shockwaves across the European Union which reverberated globally.

With the formal exit from the EU undertaken at the beginning of 2020, and the subsequent wrath of the COVID-19 Pandemic from early 2020 through the present, the United Kingdom’s gates have been historically shuttered. The result? A new aftershock that has rocked the UK - a dearth of talented international talent, disincentivized or wholly prohibited from pursuing educational or professional opportunities within the country.

In face of a stagnant and homogenous talent pool, the British Government is keen on reversing this reality, which comes in the form of the new High Potential Individual (HPI) Visa. Launched on May 30th, 2022, this new offering, per the government itself, is a “short-term work visa for individuals at an early career stage, who have shown they have potential to benefit the UK workforce.”

Following the visa program’s launch, any non-citizen— whether presently outside of the UK, or presently within the UK possessing another visa type - may apply for the HPI Visa provided he/she has attained a degree from an eligible international university within the five years leading up to the date of one’s application.

Does your dream commute entail weaving through London landmarks such as St. Paul’s Cathedral? Or does it take place on a double-decker bus?

The definition is far from precise - but let’s break down some of the ambiguities.

• “Short-term work visa” - any successful applicant granted the HPI Visa would be granted two years of work visa status (for recipients possessing Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degrees) and three years of work visa status for PhD applicants. This implies that one possessing the HPI Visa is free to seek employment in the UK over the two- or three-year eligibility period, and would not require employer sponsorship. If employment is secured within the eligibility period, one would have the option to convert his/her HPI Visa to a longer-term employment visa upon its expiration, provided certain eligibility criteria are satisfied.

• “At an early career stage” - perhaps misleadingly, this statement does not mandate that an applicant is presently employed. Nor does it mandate that an applicant has received an offer for employment within the UK - as this would defeat the purpose of the HPI Visa altogether. The “early career stage” definition is relative to one’s education - stipulating that any applicant has been conferred either a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and/or Doctorate degree within the past five years. The major catch - however - is the list of universities that earn one the right to apply.

• “An eligible international university” - likely to be the most polarizing element of this novel visa program, the list of eligible international universities is based on an amalgamation of global university rankings, a university deemed eligible provided it lands on at least two lists amongst those considered as part of the evaluation process. This list is furthermore issued on an annual basis, thus an applicant’s eligibility is contingent on his/her degree institution securing a place on the specific list for the yearlong period during which his/her degree was conferred. Reviewing the latest list, effective 1 November 2021 to 31 October 2022, thirty-nine universities are listed, of which twenty are US institutions.

For professional opportunities in the UK, London likely comes to mind first. Though it is worth noting that the HPI Visa would enable one to seek sponsor-free employment across the entire United Kingdom.

If there is any criticism of the HPI Visa methodology, it would likely be towards honoring an approach already lambasted by critics as self-fulfilling and heavily favorable to Western academia. While taking a university ranking-forward approach may have been the government’s best effort to bring rigid structure to the eligibility criteria, the approach nevertheless reveals some inconsistencies and shortcomings. One such criticism is the lopsided favor of Western academia, and the narrow net this ranking-forward approach casts: returning to the 2021-2022 eligibility list, only ten countries are represented across the thirty-nine institutions, and only three (Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan) are located outside of North America, Europe, or Australia. It follows that Central & South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia are wholly excluded from all iterations of the list.

The annual shift in eligible rankings also makes for an awkward experience for an applicant whose institution appeared on certain, but not all, lists. An applicant with a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, would only be eligible to apply if his/her degree was conferred from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2019, or 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2021, leaving gaps for class years 2020 and 2022 - purely owing to shifts in rankings. Taking a ranking-forward approach excludes talent who may have received an offer of admission to one of the eligible institutions, but were financially unable to attend. In a sphere where the prestige attached to institutional names is being deconstructed, this methodology could come as a harshly antiquated approach.

Nevertheless, in the grand scheme of visa opportunities, the HPI Visa is amongst the laxest of all - requiring minimal information to jumpstart the application. The College Sage completed a mock application via the application portal, and found the interface to be very intuitive, and the information requested to be straightforward and easily-retrievable. The one pivotal detail is, however, the submission of one’s degree - to come in the form of a reference number provided by firm Ecctis, with whom the UK government has partnered to assess diploma validity, or direct submission of a copy of one’s diploma.

The College Sage found the application portal to be refreshingly straightforward with resources to address some of the questions likely to come up in the application process.

The HPI Visa application does not come without numerous fees, some of which would not be refunded if even in the case of a rejected application. Any interested applicant should expect to pay the following, with USD conversions provided based on May 30th exchange rates.

• £210 ($266) for a qualification validity check by external firm Ecctis

• £715 ($904) for the general application fee

• £624 ($789) per year to cover one’s participation in the National Health Service (NHS), billed for all eligible years (2 or 3) at the time of application

Furthermore, applicants would need to prove that they possess £1270 ($1607) of funds available to support themselves, and would likely need to shell out an additional few hundred dollars for processing at one of the ten UK Visa Application Centers located across the country (prices vary by processing time).

The HPI Visa is a tremendous opportunity to take one’s professional ambitions to the United Kingdom, side-stepping the challenges of securing employment sponsorships, and alleviating one of the need to enroll in a degree program to get one’s foot in the country. Do you have the qualifications to apply? Contact The College Sage for more details on this novel visa opportunity - the next step in your career might just be across the pond.

Flying High with The College Sage at Trident Tech’s South Carolina Aeronautical Training Center

The College Sage recently had the opportunity to visit the new South Carolina Aeronautical Training Center at Trident Technical College, and we were very impressed by the unqiue opportunities this state-of-the-art training center provides students in the Lowcountry and beyond!

Located on the Thornley Campus of Trident Technical College in North Charleston, the South Carolina Aeronautical Training Center is housed in a brand new, 218,000-square-foot facility. There are many program offerings which provide tons of options to many different students!

Excited to visit the facility and learn more about a range of unique programs!

Some of the primary credit programs include Aircraft Assembly Technology, Avionics Maintenance Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, and an Engineering Transfer Degree Program. The Student Pathways in Engineering and Computing for Transfers program (also known as SPECTRA) is especially notable, as Trident Tech has partnered with Clemson University to allow students to earn their Associate’s degree from Trident Tech and then transfer to Clemson after achieving at least 30 credit hours and maintaining a 2.7 GPA. Students will then go on to complete their Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Computer Science. The Citadel offers a similar 2+2 program where Trident Tech students can transfer into the The Citadel School of Engineering after completing their first two years of undergraduate studies at Trident Tech.

The SCATC also offers noncredit programs, which includes pathways in the fields of Robotics, Quality Control, and Aeronautical Skills. SCATC also offers readySC Program in partnership with Boeing. This program trains workers for jobs at the Boeing plant in North Charleston, equipping future Boeing employees for success via hands-on training as well as classroom instruction.

A peek into one of the many engineering labs!

While this blog only scratches the surface, one thing is clear - there are really neat things happening at Trident Technical College, and at their South Carolina Aeronautical Training Center in particular! With virtual and in-person tours on weekdays both on offer, The College Sage highly recommends paying a visit yourself. Do you have sky-high ambitions? Learn more here, and let the College Sage help you soar!