Colleges that Consider Legacy Status

So-called “legacy applicants,” those who have familial ties to an institution, are still given a measurable edge in the admissions process at many elite U.S. colleges and universities.

Some institutions such as Stanford and UNC only take “primary legacy” status into consideration—where one or both of the applicant’s parents are alumni. Yet, most schools will also grant favor to “secondary legacies” who claim a grandparent, sibling, or other non-parental familial affiliation to the school. Only a handful of elite schools have shed the practice entirely from their admissions formula. These include MIT, Caltech, and Cooper Union. While controversial, being a legacy can provide a massive boost to your odds of acceptance. For example, the admission rate for Harvard legacies is over five times that of non-legacies. College Transitions’ list below of which colleges consider legacy status will inform you as to whether “keeping it in the family” will actually provide you with an advantage at your prospective schools.

*Data collected from institution websites and Common Data Set (CDS) forms.

Table updated November 2023

unitID	Institution	TAG	Alumni Relation/Legacy Status
138600	Agnes Scott College		Considered
210669	Allegheny College		Considered
131159	American University	AU	Not Considered
164465	Amherst College		Not Considered
197869	Appalachian State University	App State	Considered
104151	Arizona State University	ASU	Not Considered
100858	Auburn University		Not Considered
164580	Babson College		Considered
189088	Bard College		Considered
189097	Barnard College		Considered
160977	Bates College		Considered
223232	Baylor University		Considered
238333	Beloit College		Considered
230816	Bennington College		Not Considered
164739	Bentley University		Considered
156295	Berea College		Not Considered
164748	Berklee College of Music		Considered
196079	Binghamton University		Not Considered
142115	Boise State University		Not Considered
164924	Boston College	BC	Important
164988	Boston University	BU	Considered
161004	Bowdoin College		Considered
165015	Brandeis University		Considered
230038	Brigham Young University-Provo	BYU	Not Considered
217156	Brown University		Considered
217165	Bryant University		Considered
211273	Bryn Mawr College		Considered
211291	Bucknell University		Considered
150163	Butler University		Not Considered
110404	California Institute of Technology	Caltech	Not Considered
111081	California Institute of the Arts		Not Considered
110422	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	Cal Poly	Not Considered
110529	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona		Not Considered
110556	California State University-Fresno		Not Considered
110565	California State University-Fullerton		Not Considered
110583	California State University-Long Beach		Not Considered
110592	California State University-Los Angeles		Not Considered
173258	Carleton College		Considered
211440	Carnegie Mellon University	CMU	Not Considered
201645	Case Western Reserve University		Considered
131283	Catholic University of America		Considered
156408	Centre College		Considered
230852	Champlain College		Considered
111948	Chapman University		Not Considered
112260	Claremont McKenna College	CMC	Considered
165334	Clark University		Not Considered
190044	Clarkson University		Considered
217882	Clemson University		Considered
161086	Colby College		Considered
190099	Colgate University		Considered
217819	College of Charleston		Considered
160959	College of the Atlantic		Considered
166124	College of the Holy Cross		Considered
231624	College of William and Mary	W&M	Considered
126678	Colorado College	CC	Considered
126775	Colorado School of Mines		Considered
126818	Colorado State University	CSU	Not Considered
190150	Columbia University in the City of New York		Considered
128902	Connecticut College		Considered
190372	Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art		Not Considered
153162	Cornell College		Considered
190415	Cornell University		Considered
181002	Creighton University		Not Considered
190512	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College		Not Considered
190594	CUNY Hunter College		Not Considered
182670	Dartmouth College		Considered
198385	Davidson College		Considered
202523	Denison University		Considered
144740	DePaul University		Considered
150400	DePauw University		Considered
212009	Dickinson College		Considered
153269	Drake University		Considered
184348	Drew University		Considered
212054	Drexel University		Considered
198419	Duke University		Considered
212106	Duquesne University		Considered
150455	Earlham College		Not Considered
198464	East Carolina University	ECU	Considered
133492	Eckerd College		Considered
212197	Elizabethtown College		Considered
198516	Elon University		Important
133553	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University		Considered
165662	Emerson College		Not Considered
165671	Emmanuel College		Not Considered
139658	Emory University		Considered
129242	Fairfield University		Considered
191126	Fashion Institute of Technology	FIT	Considered
133669	Florida Atlantic University	FAU	Not Considered
133881	Florida Institute of Technology		Considered
133951	Florida International University	FIU	Considered
134079	Florida Southern College		Considered
134097	Florida State University	FSU	Not Considered
191241	Fordham University		Considered
212577	Franklin and Marshall College	F&M	Considered
441982	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering		Considered
218070	Furman University		Considered
232186	George Mason University	GMU	Not Considered
131469	George Washington University	GWU	Considered
131496	Georgetown University		Considered
139861	Georgia College & State University		Considered
139755	Georgia Institute of Technology	Georgia Tech	Not Considered
139940	Georgia State University		Not Considered
212674	Gettysburg College		Considered
235316	Gonzaga University		Considered
162654	Goucher College		Considered
153384	Grinnell College		Considered
212805	Grove City College		Considered
173647	Gustavus Adolphus College		Considered
191515	Hamilton College		Considered
166018	Hampshire College		Considered
150756	Hanover College		Considered
166027	Harvard University		Considered
115409	Harvey Mudd College	HMC	Considered
212911	Haverford College		Considered
107080	Hendrix College		Considered
170286	Hillsdale College		Considered
191630	Hobart William Smith Colleges		Considered
191649	Hofstra University		Not Considered
170301	Hope College		Considered
131520	Howard University	HU	Considered
145725	Illinois Institute of Technology	IIT	Considered
145646	Illinois Wesleyan University		Considered
151351	Indiana University-Bloomington	IUB	Not Considered
153603	Iowa State University		Not Considered
191968	Ithaca College		Considered
232423	James Madison University	JMU	Considered
162928	Johns Hopkins University	JHU	Not Considered
213251	Juniata College		Considered
170532	Kalamazoo College		Considered
155399	Kansas State University		Not Considered
203535	Kenyon College		Considered
169983	Kettering University		Considered
146427	Knox College		Considered
213385	Lafayette College		Considered
146481	Lake Forest College		Considered
239017	Lawrence University		Considered
192323	Le Moyne College		Considered
213543	Lehigh University		Considered
209056	Lewis & Clark College		Considered
159391	Louisiana State University	LSU	Considered
117946	Loyola Marymount University	LMU	Considered
146719	Loyola University Chicago	LUC	Not Considered
163046	Loyola University Maryland		Considered
173902	Macalester College		Considered
161299	Maine Maritime Academy		Not Considered
192819	Marist College		Not Considered
239105	Marquette University		Considered
166683	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MIT	Not Considered
140447	Mercer University		Not Considered
204024	Miami University-Oxford		Considered
171100	Michigan State University	MSU	Considered
171128	Michigan Technological University		Not Considered
230959	Middlebury College		Considered
239318	Milwaukee School of Engineering	MSOE	Not Considered
176080	Mississippi State University		Not Considered
178411	Missouri University of Science and Technology	MUST	Not Considered
180461	Montana State University		Not Considered
140553	Morehouse College		Considered
166939	Mount Holyoke College	MHC	Considered
214175	Muhlenberg College		Considered
262129	New College of Florida		Considered
185828	New Jersey Institute of Technology	NJIT	Considered
187967	New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	NMIT	Not Considered
193900	New York University	NYU	Considered
199193	North Carolina State University	NC State	Considered
167358	Northeastern University		Not Considered
147767	Northwestern University		Considered
204501	Oberlin College		Important
120254	Occidental College	Oxy	Considered
204796	Ohio State University	OSU	Not Considered
204857	Ohio University	OU	Considered
204909	Ohio Wesleyan University		Considered
209542	Oregon State University	OSU	Not Considered
214777	Pennsylvania State University	PSU; Penn State	Considered
121150	Pepperdine University		Considered
121257	Pitzer College		Not Considered
121345	Pomona College		Not Considered
194578	Pratt Institute-Main		Not Considered
186131	Princeton University		Considered
217402	Providence College		Considered
243780	Purdue University-Main Campus		Not Considered
130226	Quinnipiac University		Not Considered
186201	Ramapo College of New Jersey		Considered
209922	Reed College		Considered
194824	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	RPI	Considered
217493	Rhode Island School of Design	RISD	Considered
221351	Rhodes College		Considered
227757	Rice University		Considered
195003	Rochester Institute of Technology	RIT	Considered
136950	Rollins College		Considered
152318	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	RHIT	Considered
184782	Rowan University		Not Considered
186371	Rutgers University-Camden		Not Considered
186380	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	RU	Not Considered
186399	Rutgers University-Newark		Not Considered
183239	Saint Anselm College		Considered
179159	Saint Louis University	SLU	Not Considered
231059	Saint Michael's College		Considered
122409	San Diego State University	SDSU	Not Considered
122755	San Jose State University	SJSU	Not Considered
122931	Santa Clara University	SCU	Considered
195304	Sarah Lawrence College	SLC	Not Considered
123165	Scripps College		Considered
236595	Seattle University		Considered
195474	Siena College		Considered
167783	Simmons University		Not Considered
195526	Skidmore College		Considered
167835	Smith College		Considered
399911	Soka University of America		Not Reported
228246	Southern Methodist University	SMU	Considered
228343	Southwestern University		Important
195216	St Lawrence University	SLU	Considered
174844	St Olaf College		Considered
163976	St. John's College		Not Considered
245652	St. John's College		Not Considered
163912	St. Mary's College of Maryland		Considered
243744	Stanford University		Considered
196176	State University of New York at New Paltz		Not Considered
137546	Stetson University		Considered
186867	Stevens Institute of Technology		Considered
167996	Stonehill College		Considered
196097	Stony Brook University		Considered
196219	SUNY at Purchase College		Not Considered
196167	SUNY College at Geneseo		Considered
196103	SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry		Considered
216287	Swarthmore College		Considered
196413	Syracuse University		Considered
216339	Temple University		Considered
228723	Texas A & M University-College Station		Not Considered
228875	Texas Christian University	TCU	Considered
229115	Texas Tech University		Not Considered
187134	The College of New Jersey	TCNJ	Considered
206589	The College of Wooster		Not Considered
193654	The New School		Not Considered
100751	The University of Alabama		Considered
180489	The University of Montana		Not Considered
137847	The University of Tampa		Considered
221759	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	UTK	Not Considered
228778	The University of Texas at Austin	UT Austin	Not Considered
228787	The University of Texas at Dallas	UTD; UT Dallas	Not Considered
221519	The University of the South		Considered
124292	Thomas Aquinas College		Not Considered
216366	Thomas Jefferson University		Not Reported
164076	Towson University		Considered
130590	Trinity College		Considered
229267	Trinity University		Considered
178615	Truman State University		Considered
168148	Tufts University		Considered
160755	Tulane University of Louisiana		Considered
196866	Union College		Considered
128328	United States Air Force Academy	USAFA	Considered
130624	United States Coast Guard Academy	USCGA	Considered
197027	United States Merchant Marine Academy		Not Considered
197036	United States Military Academy	USMA	Not Considered
164155	United States Naval Academy		Considered
196088	University at Buffalo		Not Considered
100663	University of Alabama at Birmingham	UAB	Not Considered
104179	University of Arizona	UA	Not Considered
106397	University of Arkansas		Considered
110635	University of California-Berkeley	UCB: UC Berkeley	Not Considered
110644	University of California-Davis	UCD; UC Davis	Not Considered
110653	University of California-Irvine	UCI; UC Irvine	Not Considered
110662	University of California-Los Angeles	UCLA	Not Considered
445188	University of California-Merced	UC Merced	Not Considered
110671	University of California-Riverside	UCR; UC Riverside	Not Considered
110680	University of California-San Diego	UCSD; UC San Diego	Not Considered
110705	University of California-Santa Barbara	UCSB; UC Santa Barbara	Not Considered
110714	University of California-Santa Cruz	UCSC; UC Santa Cruz	Not Considered
132903	University of Central Florida	UCF	Considered
144050	University of Chicago	UChicago	Considered
201885	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus		Not Considered
126614	University of Colorado Boulder		Not Considered
129020	University of Connecticut	UConn	Not Considered
224323	University of Dallas		Considered
130943	University of Delaware	UD	Considered
127060	University of Denver	UD	Considered
134130	University of Florida	UF	Not Considered
139959	University of Georgia	UGA	Not Considered
225511	University of Houston		Not Considered
142285	University of Idaho		Not Considered
145600	University of Illinois at Chicago	UIC	Not Considered
145637	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	UIUC	Not Considered
153658	University of Iowa		Not Considered
155317	University of Kansas	KU	Not Considered
157085	University of Kentucky	UK	Not Considered
157289	University of Louisville		Not Considered
161253	University of Maine		Not Considered
232681	University of Mary Washington		Considered
163268	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	UMBC	Not Considered
163286	University of Maryland-College Park	UMD	Not Considered
166629	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	UMass Amherst	Not Considered
166638	University of Massachusetts-Boston	UMass Boston	Not Considered
166513	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	UMass Lowell	Considered
135726	University of Miami	UM	Considered
170976	University of Michigan	UMich	Not Considered
174233	University of Minnesota-Duluth		Considered
174251	University of Minnesota-Morris		Not Considered
174066	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	UMN	Considered
176017	University of Mississippi	Ole Miss	Not Considered
178396	University of Missouri-Columbia	Mizzou	Not Considered
181464	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	UNL	Not Considered
182281	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	UNLV	Not Considered
182290	University of Nevada-Reno	UNR	Not Considered
183044	University of New Hampshire	UNH	Considered
199111	University of North Carolina at Asheville	UNC Asheville	Considered
199120	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	UNC Chapel Hill	Considered
199139	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	UNCC; UNC Charlotte	Not Considered
199148	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	UNCG; UNC Greensboro	Not Considered
199218	University of North Carolina Wilmington	UNC Wilmington	Considered
152080	University of Notre Dame	UND	Considered
207500	University of Oklahoma	OU	Considered
209551	University of Oregon		Not Considered
215062	University of Pennsylvania	UPenn	Considered
215293	University of Pittsburgh		Not Considered
209825	University of Portland		Considered
236328	University of Puget Sound		Important
121691	University of Redlands		Considered
217484	University of Rhode Island	URI	Considered
233374	University of Richmond		Considered
195030	University of Rochester		Considered
122436	University of San Diego	USD	Not Considered
122612	University of San Francisco	USF	Considered
215929	University of Scranton		Considered
218663	University of South Carolina	USC	Not Considered
137351	University of South Florida	USF	Not Considered
123961	University of Southern California	USC	Considered
174914	University of St Thomas		Considered
231174	University of Vermont	UVM	Considered
234076	University of Virginia	UVA	Considered
377555	University of Washington-Bothell Campus		Not Considered
236948	University of Washington-Seattle	UW	Not Considered
240444	University of Wisconsin-Madison	UW-Madison	Not Considered
216524	Ursinus College		Considered
221999	Vanderbilt University	Vandy	Considered
197133	Vassar College		Considered
216597	Villanova University		Considered
234030	Virginia Commonwealth University	VCU	Not Considered
233921	Virginia Tech	Virginia Tech	Considered
152673	Wabash College		Considered
199847	Wake Forest University		Considered
234207	Washington and Lee University	W&L; WLU	Considered
164216	Washington College		Considered
236939	Washington State University	WSU	Not Considered
179867	Washington University in St Louis	WashU	Considered
168218	Wellesley College		Considered
168227	Wentworth Institute of Technology		Considered
130697	Wesleyan University		Considered
216764	West Chester University of Pennsylvania		Not Considered
238032	West Virginia University	WVU	Not Considered
125727	Westmont College		Not Considered
149781	Wheaton College		Considered
168281	Wheaton College		Considered
237057	Whitman College		Considered
125763	Whittier College		Considered
210401	Willamette University		Considered
168342	Williams College		Considered
218973	Wofford College		Considered
168421	Worcester Polytechnic Institute	WPI	Considered
130794	Yale University		Considered
197708	Yeshiva University	YU	Not Considered

Colleges Worth Your Money

2024 Edition

A Guide to What America's Top Schools Can Do for You

Buy on Amazon Now