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Have you ever met these people? Do they have any idea who you are? I mean, I don't think your dog's former owner's cousin's uncle constitutes "very strong ties" to the university, but if they know you well, then you should talk to them. I wouldn't mention it though because it sounds pretentious to mention it if they don't ask about it, and I think it is possible that you could get in without mentioning it.

Call your relative who is the current CEO of the university & let him know of your application & ask if he has any time available when you visit the university.
I don't think that you should state these relationships in your law school application, however.

CSCS Trainer wrote:I have a very strong family tie to one of the universities I am applying to for law school. The ties date back to the early 1900's; my great-grandmother worked for the university for 30+ years, and a second-cousin of my grandfather is the former president and current ceo of the university.

Couple questions: Is is bad to "mention" my family ties to the university in my application/personal statement? How will the family ties influence my admission? I have above 25% undergrad gpa and above median LSAT, but also have a graduate degree, 12+ years work experience - 5 of those in a regional supervisor role, and have started my own company. Thoughts? Thanks.

"second-cousin of my grandfather" is a ridiculously tenuous link between that person and you.

Firstly: LOL
...if you're a flame I hate you
...but I also love you for distracting me from my property class.

Now to the answer...

romothesavior wrote:If they know you well, then you should talk to them.

Credited.

If there's any admissions bump they can provide, it's going to come from them talking to somebody-not you.

Thank you for the replies. To answer some of the questions: yes I know these people, my family is very close. I spent a lot of time growing up around this university because so many family members were connected by either attending as students for working for it. Great aunts & uncles, aunts & uncles, cousins have all attended this university. Someone from my family as been involved at this university in some capacity since the early 1900's.

as for this comment, "second-cousin of my grandfather" is a ridiculously tenuous link between that person and you. I wouldn't necessarily agree considering like I said, our families were very close growing up.

My reasons for mentioning include any potential "bump" in the admissions process, obviously, but also it explains my desire to attend this specific university.

Thank you again for your opinions.

CSCS Trainer wrote:Thank you for the replies. To answer some of the questions: yes I know these people, my family is very close. I spent a lot of time growing up around this university because so many family members were connected by either attending as students for working for it. Great aunts & uncles, aunts & uncles, cousins have all attended this university. Someone from my family as been involved at this university in some capacity since the early 1900's.

as for this comment, "second-cousin of my grandfather" is a ridiculously tenuous link between that person and you. I wouldn't necessarily agree considering like I said, our families were very close growing up.

My reasons for mentioning include any potential "bump" in the admissions process, obviously, but also it explains my desire to attend this specific university.

Thank you again for your opinions.

Just call in to the admissions office and say: " Good sir, I do say that I am planning on taking up a career in the learned profession of the law and have chosen to follow my birthrite, which leads me to this fine university. As I'm sure you know, my blood lines run deep here at princeton law, what with many generations of noblemen from my family having attended since the early 1800's and my grandmother's third counsin's aunt's father having recently agreed to take up the position of President of the good university. I just wanted to call in to make sure that legacy students, such as myself, are required to take part in the rifraffery of a written application or if such procedures are handled in the more gentlemenly manner of a hand shake over a fine cigar and brandy at the old boys club"

reasonable_man wrote:

CSCS Trainer wrote:Thank you for the replies. To answer some of the questions: yes I know these people, my family is very close. I spent a lot of time growing up around this university because so many family members were connected by either attending as students for working for it. Great aunts & uncles, aunts & uncles, cousins have all attended this university. Someone from my family as been involved at this university in some capacity since the early 1900's.

as for this comment, "second-cousin of my grandfather" is a ridiculously tenuous link between that person and you. I wouldn't necessarily agree considering like I said, our families were very close growing up.

My reasons for mentioning include any potential "bump" in the admissions process, obviously, but also it explains my desire to attend this specific university.

Thank you again for your opinions.

Just call in to the admissions office and say: " Good sir, I do say that I am planning on taking up a career in the learned profession of the law and have chosen to follow my birthrite, which leads me to this fine university. As I'm sure you know, my blood lines run deep here at princeton law, what with many generations of noblemen from my family having attended since the early 1800's and my grandmother's third counsin's aunt's father having recently agreed to take up the position of President of the good university. I just wanted to call in to make sure that legacy students, such as myself, are required to take part in the rifraffery of a written application or if such procedures are handled in the more gentlemenly manner of a hand shake over a fine cigar and brandy at the old boys club"

Hahahaha!

In all seriousness, if you truly have a "strong" link to this university as you claim then you shouldnt be on an internet forum asking this question. You should be on the phone talking to said relatives and telling them that youre ready to submit your application and you hope that they'll give you a fine look.

reasonable_man wrote:

Just call in to the admissions office and say: " Good sir, I do say that I am planning on taking up a career in the learned profession of the law and have chosen to follow my birthrite, which leads me to this fine university. As I'm sure you know, my blood lines run deep here at princeton law, what with many generations of noblemen from my family having attended since the early 1800's and my grandmother's third counsin's aunt's father having recently agreed to take up the position of President of the good university. I just wanted to call in to make sure that legacy students, such as myself, are required to take part in the rifraffery of a written application or if such procedures are handled in the more gentlemenly manner of a hand shake over a fine cigar and brandy at the old boys club"

Why didn't think of this already? Thank you so much for the great suggestion.


"In all seriousness, if you truly have a "strong" link to this university as you claim then you shouldnt be on an internet forum asking this question. You should be on the phone talking to said relatives and telling them that youre ready to submit your application and you hope that they'll give you a fine look."

I have spoken to some of my relatives about my desire to apply to this university. While none of them have law school experience, I thought I would ask this question on a forum that is specifically for law school admissions information. While I appreciate a good razzing as much as the next guy, it is a legitimate question. I know when I applied to college for my undergrad I was asked if I had family members who had attended those universities and the same thing when I applied for graduate school. It was always asked in the admissions process if there were any ties to the university. I just wasn't sure if it was the same for law school.

Thanks again.

If the application specifically asks, list the information as succinctly as possible in the space provided.

If the application does not specifically ask, do not try to find some where to force it into the application. Instead, communicate with your relatives who work at the university and ask if they have any recommendations on how to communicate your desire to attend and your family connections.

paratactical wrote:If the application specifically asks, list the information as succinctly as possible in the space provided.

If the application does not specifically ask, do not try to find some where to force it into the application. Instead, communicate with your relatives who work at the university and ask if they have any recommendations on how to communicate your desire to attend and your family connections.

Did someone hack your account? This is the most well-mannered, most helpful, least antagonistic post I've ever seen you make in an on-topic thread. And I don't like it.

romothesavior wrote:

paratactical wrote:If the application specifically asks, list the information as succinctly as possible in the space provided.

If the application does not specifically ask, do not try to find some where to force it into the application. Instead, communicate with your relatives who work at the university and ask if they have any recommendations on how to communicate your desire to attend and your family connections.

Did someone hack your account? This is the most well-mannered, most helpful, least antagonistic post I've ever seen you make in an on-topic thread. And I don't like it.

Your anus smells like Paris Hilton's vagina douched with John McCain's puke and the remnants from Christopher Reeves' last stem cell treatments.

I like Paris Hilton...


<3

Both my grandparents on my father's side went to Columbia (NOT law school).
Would this matter at all?

CGI Fridays wrote:Both my grandparents on my father's side went to Columbia (NOT law school).
Would this matter at all?

No, not really.

romothesavior wrote:No, not really.

Thought not.
Thanks.
Just figured I'd throw it out there when I saw this thread.

CSCS Trainer wrote:I have a very strong family tie to one of the universities I am applying to for law school. The ties date back to the early 1900's; my great-grandmother worked for the university for 30+ years, and a second-cousin of my grandfather is the former president and current ceo of the university.

Couple questions: Is is bad to "mention" my family ties to the university in my application/personal statement? How will the family ties influence my admission? I have above 25% undergrad gpa and above median LSAT, but also have a graduate degree, 12+ years work experience - 5 of those in a regional supervisor role, and have started my own company. Thoughts? Thanks.

Obvious flame. But in all seriousness dude, get out of here. You don't have serious family connections, no one will care, and the fact that you even asked says a lot about your chances of surviving in the real world.

Serious question:

How does someone actually make use of ties to the university? I have a tie to a member of the board of trustees at one of the schools I plan to apply to, and I have spoken to them about my application. Is that really going to matter?

cowgirl_bebop wrote:Serious question:

How does someone actually make use of ties to the university? I have a tie to a member of the board of trustees at one of the schools I plan to apply to, and I have spoken to them about my application. Is that really going to matter?

Just like anything else in life, you work directly with that person. If you have a "job connection" what are you going to do? Youre going to talk to that person directly abour the job. If you know someone that is relevant to the university, talk to them. Tell them that you really want to go there (assuming this is true) and that you'd appreciate it if they could help you in any way, shape or form.

gdane5 wrote:

cowgirl_bebop wrote:Serious question:

How does someone actually make use of ties to the university? I have a tie to a member of the board of trustees at one of the schools I plan to apply to, and I have spoken to them about my application. Is that really going to matter?

Just like anything else in life, you work directly with that person. If you have a "job connection" what are you going to do? Youre going to talk to that person directly abour the job. If you know someone that is relevant to the university, talk to them. Tell them that you really want to go there (assuming this is true) and that you'd appreciate it if they could help you in any way, shape or form.

I have done all of that. She told me to get back with her when my LSAT score comes in. I guess Im just wondering how much that would really help.

I guess we'll see...

To be honest, connections like these are really not the kind that help your law school admissions. They are too intangible. Also, having a BOT member or a distant relative call the admissions office to get you in is shady and unethical. See: University of Illinois trustees scandal. Sorry guys, but unless you have a close family member and they ask for it on the application, it won't matter. And in all likelihood, it wouldn't matter unless they are a serious donor. You're gonna have to suck it up and apply like the rest of us.

romothesavior wrote:To be honest, connections like these are really not the kind that help your law school admissions. They are too intangible. Also, having a BOT member or a distant relative call the admissions office to get you in is shady and unethical. See: University of Illinois trustees scandal. Sorry guys, but unless you have a close family member and they ask for it on the application, it won't matter. And in all likelihood, it wouldn't matter unless they are a serious donor. You're gonna have to suck it up and apply like the rest of us.

I mean, Im still applying, and Im not expecting much. By no means am I expecting her to call the office of admissions and try to "get me in". I can be admitted on my own. BUT if it is any sort of boost I'd be a fool to refuse it. Is she offered to give me a hand Im not going to pass that up. This is a reach school for me that I would LOVE to attend, so if she can give my application at least a second glance than hell, I'll take it! If her influence can add up to the equivalent of a LOR, then good for me. I could use the help.

Columbia Law wrote:
Obvious flame. But in all seriousness dude, get out of here. You don't have serious family connections, no one will care, and the fact that you even asked says a lot about your chances of surviving in the real world.

Wow, I'm sorry I pissed in your cheerios this morning. Thank you for making a very broad assumption about my chances in the "real world". Should I assume you are a pimple-face 21 year old just finishing their very tough major in political science and going right on to law school on mommy & daddy's money without ever stepping foot in your so-called "real world"?

I probably shouldn't as that would be very disrespectful considering I know nothing about you and am sitting behind a computer screen. Here's hoping your Columbia Law education teaches you some interpersonal skills.

Yes some applications ask for family members who have attended the university - again, why I was asking if this was something across the board with law school applications.

Thank you to those who actually gave an informative and respectful response - always appreciated.

ITT: Clowns try to bring back feudalist nobility.

If you have "strong family ties" to the university, why would you ask an internet forum over your family about your chances at said university?

Dude, if my dog's cousin's owner's neighbor's aunt's cleaning lady also cleans the house of the president of a university, I would be there with a fruit tart in one hand and a toilet brush in the other tomorrow morning at 6:45am trying to chat up my chances of getting accepted and/or their toilet paper hanging preference.