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 October 2021.

Institution	Alumni Relation/Legacy Status	Tags
Adelphi University	Considered
Agnes Scott College	Considered
Albion College	Considered
Alfred University	Considered
Allegheny College	Considered
American University	Considered	AU
Amherst College	Considered
Appalachian State University	Considered	App State
Arizona State University	Not Considered	ASU
Assumption College	Considered
Auburn University	Considered
Augustana College	Considered
Austin College	Considered
Babson College	Considered
Ball State University	Not Considered
Bard College	Considered
Barnard College	Considered
Bates College	Considered
Baylor University	Considered
Belmont University	Considered
Beloit College	Considered
Bennington College	Not Considered
Bentley University	Considered
Berea College	Not Considered
Berry College	Not Considered
Binghamton University	Considered
Birmingham Southern College	Considered
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania	Not Considered
Boise State University	Not Considered
Boston College	Considered	BC
Boston University	Considered	BU
Bowdoin College	Considered
Bowling Green State University	Considered
Bradley University	Considered
Brandeis University	Considered
Brigham Young University-Provo	Not Considered	BYU
Brown University	Considered
Bryant University	Considered
Bryn Mawr College	Considered
Bucknell University	Considered
Butler University	Considered
Cal Poly, Pomona	Not Considered
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo	Not Considered
California Institute of Technology	Not Considered	Caltech
California State University, Fresno	Not Considered
California State University, Fullerton	Not Considered
California State University, Long Beach	Not Considered
Canisius College	Considered
Carleton College	Considered
Carnegie Mellon University	Considered	CMU
Case Western Reserve University	Considered
Catholic University of America	Considered
Central Michigan University	Considered	CMU
Centre College	Considered
Chapman University	Not Considered
Christopher Newport University	Considered
Citadel Military College of South Carolina	Considered
Claremont McKenna College	Considered	CMC
Clark University	Considered
Clarkson University	Considered
Clemson University	Considered
Coastal Carolina University	Considered
Colby College	Considered
Colgate University	Considered
College of Charleston	Considered	CofC
College of Saint Benedict	Considered
College of the Holy Cross	Considered
College of William and Mary	Considered
Colorado College	Considered	CC
Colorado School of Mines	Considered
Colorado State University	Considered	CSU
Columbia University	Considered
Connecticut College	Considered
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	Not Considered
Cornell College	Considered
Cornell University	Considered
Creighton University	Not Considered
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	Not Considered
CUNY Brooklyn College	Not Considered
CUNY City College	Not Considered
CUNY Hunter College	Not Considered
CUNY Lehman College	Not Considered
Dartmouth College	Considered
Davidson College	Considered
Denison University	Considered
DePaul University	Considered
DePauw University	Considered
Dickinson College	Considered
Drake University	Considered
Drew University	Considered
Drexel University	Considered
Duke University	Considered
Duquesne University	Considered
Earlham College	Not Considered
East Carolina University	Considered	ECU
Eastern Connecticut State University	Considered
Eastern Kentucky University	Not Considered
Eckerd College	Considered
Elizabethtown College	Considered
Elon University	Considered
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	Considered	ERAU
Emerson College	Considered
Emory University	Considered
Endicott College	Considered
Fairfield University	Considered
Fitchburg State University	Considered
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	Considered
Florida Atlantic University	Not Considered	FAU
Florida Gulf Coast University	Not Considered	FGCU
Florida Institute of Technology	Considered	FIT
Florida International University	Not Considered	FIU
Florida Southern College	Considered
Florida State University	Not Considered	FSU
Fordham University	Considered
Franklin and Marshall College	Considered	F&M
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering	Considered
Furman University	Considered
George Mason University	Not Considered	GMU
George Washington University	Considered	GWU; GW
Georgetown College	Not Considered
Georgetown University	Considered
Georgia College	Considered
Georgia Institute of Technology	Considered	Georgia Tech
Georgia Southern University	Not Considered	GSU
Georgia State University	Not Considered	GSU
Gettysburg College	Considered
Gonzaga University	Considered
Goucher College	Considered
Grinnell College	Considered
Grove City College	Considered
Gustavus Adolphus College	Considered
Hamilton College	Considered
Hampshire College	Considered
Hanover College	Considered
Harvard University	Considered
Harvey Mudd College	Considered	HMC
Haverford College	Considered
Hendrix College	Considered
High Point University	Considered
Hillsdale College	Considered
Hobart William Smith Colleges	Considered	HWS
Hofstra University	Considered
Hope College	Considered
Howard University	Considered
Illinois Institute of Technology	Considered	IIT
Illinois State University	Not Considered
Illinois Wesleyan University	Considered
Indiana University Bloomington	Considered	IU; IUB
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis	Not Considered	IUPUI
Iowa State University	Not Considered	ISU
Ithaca College	Considered
James Madison University	Considered	JMU
John Carroll University	Considered
Johns Hopkins University	Not Considered	JHU
Juniata College	Considered
Kalamazoo College	Considered
Kansas State University	Not Considered	KSU; K-STATE
Kent State University at Kent	Not Considered
Kenyon College	Considered
Kettering University	Not Considered
Knox College	Considered
La Salle University	Considered
Lafayette College	Considered
Lake Forest College	Considered
Lawrence University	Considered
Lehigh University	Considered
Lewis & Clark College	Considered
Linfield College-McMinnville Campus	Considered
Louisiana State University	Considered	LSU
Loyola Marymount University	Considered	LMU
Loyola University Chicago	Considered
Loyola University Maryland	Considered
Lycoming College	Considered
Macalester College	Considered
Manhattan College	Considered
Marist College	Considered
Marquette University	Considered
Marshall University	Not Considered
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	Considered
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Not Considered	MIT
Massachusetts Maritime Academy	Considered	MMA
McDaniel College	Considered
Mercer University	Not Considered
Mercyhurst University	Considered
Merrimack College	Considered
Messiah College	Considered
Miami University	Considered	MU
Michigan State University	Considered	MSU
Michigan Technological University	Not Considered
Middlebury College	Considered
Millersville University of Pennsylvania	Not Considered
Millsaps College	Not Considered
Milwaukee School of Engineering	Not Considered
Mississippi State University	Not Considered	MSU
Missouri University of Science and Technology	Not Considered
Monmouth University	Considered
Montana State University	Not Considered
Montclair State University	Not Considered
Moravian College	Considered
Morehouse College	Considered
Mount Holyoke College	Considered	MHC
Muhlenberg College	Considered
Murray State University	Not Considered
New College of Florida	Considered
New Jersey Institute of Technology	Considered	NJIT
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology	Not Considered	NMIT
New Mexico State University-Main Campus	Not Considered
New York Institute of Technology	Considered
New York University	Considered	NYU
Niagara University	Considered
North Carolina State University	Considered	NCSU; NC STATE
North Dakota State University-Main Campus	Not Considered
Northeastern University	Not Considered
Northern Arizona University	Not Considered	NAU
Northern Michigan University	Not Considered
Northwestern University	Considered
Norwich University	Considered
Oakland University	Not Considered
Oberlin College	Considered
Occidental College	Considered	OXY
Ohio State University	Not Considered	OSU
Ohio University	Considered	OU
Ohio Wesleyan University	Considered	OWU
Oklahoma State University	Not Considered	OSU
Old Dominion University	Considered
Oregon Institute of Technology	Not Considered
Oregon State University	Not Considered	OSU
Pennsylvania State University - University Park	Considered	PSU; PENN STATE
Pepperdine University	Considered
Pitzer College	Considered
Pomona College	Not Considered
Portland State University	Not Considered
Presbyterian College	Considered
Princeton University	Considered
Providence College	Considered
Purdue University	Considered
Quinnipiac University	Considered
Ramapo College of New Jersey	Considered
Randolph-Macon College	Considered
Reed College	Considered
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Considered	RPI
Rhode Island School of Design	Considered	RISD
Rhodes College	Considered
Rice University	Considered
Ripon College	Not Considered
Roanoke College	Considered
Rochester Institute of Technology	Considered	RIT
Roger Williams University	Considered
Rollins College	Considered
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	Considered
Rowan University	Not Considered
Rutgers University-Camden	Not Considered
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	Not Considered	RU
Rutgers University-Newark	Not Considered
Sacred Heart University	Not Considered
Saint Anselm College	Considered
Saint Johns University	Considered	SJU
Saint Joseph's University	Considered	SJU
Saint Louis University	Not Considered
Saint Mary's College	Considered
Saint Mary's College of California	Considered
Saint Michael's College	Considered
Salem State University	Not Considered
Salisbury University	Considered
Salve Regina University	Considered
Sam Houston State University	Not Considered
Samford University	Not Considered
San Diego State University	Not Considered	SDSU
San Francisco State University	Not Considered	SFSU
San Jose State University	Not Considered	SJSU
Santa Clara University	Considered	SCU
Sarah Lawrence College	Considered
Scripps College	Considered
Seattle University	Considered
Seton Hall University	Not Considered
Siena College	Considered
Simmons University	Not Considered
Skidmore College	Considered
Smith College	Considered
Soka University of America	Considered
Sonoma State University	Not Considered
South Dakota State University	Not Considered
Southern Connecticut State University	Considered
Southern Methodist University	Considered	SMU
Southwestern University	Considered
Spelman College	Considered
St Bonaventure University	Considered
St John's University-New York	Considered
St Lawrence University	Considered
St Olaf College	Considered
St. John's College (MD)	Considered
St. John's College (NM)	Considered
St. Mary's College of Maryland	Considered
Stanford University	Considered
State University of New York at New Paltz	Not Considered
Stetson University	Considered
Stevens Institute of Technology	Considered	Stevens Tech
Stockton University	Not Considered
Stonehill College	Considered
Stony Brook University	Considered
Suffolk University	Considered
SUNY at Albany	Not Considered
SUNY at Fredonia	Not Considered
SUNY at Purchase College	Not Considered
SUNY College at Brockport	Not Considered
SUNY College at Geneseo	Considered
SUNY College at Oswego	Considered
SUNY College at Plattsburgh	Considered
SUNY College at Potsdam	Not Considered
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry	Considered
SUNY Cortland	Considered
SUNY Oneonta	Not Considered
Susquehanna University	Considered	SU
Swarthmore College	Considered
Syracuse University	Considered	SU
Temple University	Considered
Tennessee Technological University	Not Considered
Texas A & M University-College Station	Not Considered
Texas Christian University	Considered
Texas State University	Not Considered	TCU
The College of New Jersey	Considered
The College of Wooster	Not Considered	TCNJ
The University of Montana	Not Considered
The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga	Not Considered	UTC
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	Considered	UTK
The University of Texas at Arlington	Not Considered	UT Arlington
The University of Texas at Austin	Not Considered	UT Austin
The University of Texas at Dallas	Not Considered	UT Dallas
The University of the South	Considered	Sewanee
Towson University	Not Considered
Transylvania University	Considered
Trinity College	Considered
Trinity University	Considered
Truman State University	Considered
Tufts University	Considered
Tulane University	Considered
Union College	Considered
United States Air Force Academy	Considered	USAA
United States Coast Guard Academy	Considered	USCGA
United States Merchant Marine Academy	Not Considered
United States Military Academy	Not Considered	USMA
United States Naval Academy	Considered	USNA
University at Buffalo	Not Considered
University of Akron Main Campus	Considered
University of Alabama	Considered
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Not Considered
University of Arizona	Not Considered	UA
University of Arkansas	Considered
University of California, Berkeley	Not Considered	UC Berkeley
University of California, Davis	Not Considered	UC Davis
University of California, Irvine	Not Considered	UC Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles	Not Considered	UCLA
University of California, Merced	Not Considered	UC Merced
University of California, Riverside	Not Considered	UCR; UC Riverside
University of California, San Diego	Not Considered	UCSD; UC San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara	Not Considered	UCSSB; UC Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz	Not Considered	UCSC; UC Santa Cruz
University of Central Florida	Considered	UCF
University of Chicago	Considered	Uchicago
University of Cincinnati	Not Considered	UC
University of Colorado Boulder	Not Considered	CU Boulder
University of Connecticut	Considered	UCONN
University of Dallas	Considered
University of Dayton	Considered
University of Delaware	Considered
University of Denver	Considered
University of Florida	Not Considered	UFL
University of Georgia	Not Considered	UGA
University of Houston	Not Considered	UH
University of Idaho	Not Considered
University of Illinois at Chicago	Not Considered	UIC
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Not Considered	UIUC
University of Iowa	Not Considered
University of Kansas	Considered	KU
University of Kentucky	Not Considered	UKY
University of Louisiana at Lafayette	Not Considered
University of Louisville	Not Considered
University of Maine	Not Considered
University of Mary Washington	Considered
University of Maryland, Baltimore County	Not Considered	UMC
University of Maryland, College Park	Considered	UMD
University of Massachusetts Amherst	Considered	UMass Amherst
University of Massachusetts Boston	Not Considered	UMass Boston
University of Massachusetts Lowell	Considered	UMass Lowell
University of Memphis	Not Considered
University of Miami	Considered	UM
University of Michigan	Considered	UMich
University of Michigan-Dearborn	Not Considered
University of Minnesota-Duluth	Considered
University of Minnesota-Morris	Not Considered	UMM
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Considered	UMN
University of Mississippi	Not Considered	Ole Miss
University of Missouri-Columbia	Not Considered	Mizzou
University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Not Considered	UNL
University of Nevada-Las Vegas	Not Considered	UNLV
University of Nevada-Reno	Not Considered	UNR
University of New Hampshire	Considered	UNH
University of New Mexico	Not Considered	UNM
University of North Carolina at Asheville	Considered	UNC Asheville; UNCA
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Considered	UNC Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Not Considered	UNCC: UNC Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Not Considered	UNCG; UNC Greensboro
University of North Carolina Wilmington	Considered	UNCW; UNC Wilmington
University of North Dakota	Not Considered	UND
University of North Florida	Not Considered	UNF
University of North Georgia	Not Considered	UNG
University of North Texas	Not Considered	UNT
University of Northern Colorado	Not Considered	UNC
University of Northern Iowa	Not Considered
University of Notre Dame	Considered	UND
University of Oklahoma	Considered	OU
University of Oregon	Not Considered	UO
University of Pennsylvania	Considered	UPenn
University of Pittsburgh	Considered
University of Portland	Considered
University of Puget Sound	Considered
University of Redlands	Considered
University of Rhode Island	Considered	URI
University of Richmond	Considered
University of Rochester	Considered	URI
University of San Diego	Considered	USD
University of San Francisco	Considered	USF
University of Scranton	Considered
University of South Carolina	Not Considered	USC
University of South Dakota	Not Considered	USD
University of South Florida	Not Considered	USF
University of Southern California	Considered	USC
University of St Thomas	Considered
University of Tampa	Considered
University of the Pacific	Not Considered
University of Toledo	Not Considered
University of Tulsa	Considered
University of Utah	Considered
University of Vermont	Considered	UVM
University of Virginia-Main Campus	Considered	UVA
University of Washington	Not Considered	UW
University of Washington-Bothell Campus	Not Considered	UW Bothell
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	Not Considered
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse	Considered
University of Wisconsin-Madison	Not Considered	UW; UW Madison
University of Wyoming	Not Considered
Ursinus College	Considered
Valparaiso University	Considered
Vanderbilt University	Considered	Vandy
Vassar College	Considered
Villanova University	Considered
Virginia Commonwealth University	Not Considered	VCU
Virginia Military Institute	Considered	VMI
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Considered	Virginia Tech
Wabash College	Considered
Wagner College	Not Considered
Wake Forest University	Considered	WFU
Warren Wilson College	Not Considered
Washington & Jefferson College	Considered
Washington and Lee University	Considered	WLU
Washington College	Considered
Washington State University	Not Considered	WSU
Washington University in St. Louis	Considered	WashU
Wayne State University	Not Considered
Wellesley College	Considered
Wentworth Institute of Technology	Considered
Wesleyan University	Considered
West Chester University of Pennsylvania	Not Considered
West Virginia University	Not Considered	WVU
Western Carolina University	Not Considered	WCU
Western Michigan University	Not Considered	WMU
Western Washington University	Not Considered
Westmont College	Considered
Wheaton College (IL)	Considered
Wheaton College (MA)	Considered
Whitman College	Considered
Whittier College	Not Considered
Whitworth University	Considered
Wichita State University	Not Considered
Widener University	Considered
Willamette University	Considered
Williams College	Considered
Winthrop University	Not Considered
Wofford College	Considered
Worcester Polytechnic Institute	Considered	WPI
Xavier University	Considered
Yale University	Considered
Yeshiva University	Not Considered

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