ADFP Advanced Strategy Advice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

ADFP Advanced Strategy Advice - Assignment Example This assessment focuses primarily on strategic recommendations in a financial planning context. It encompasses your knowledge base acquired across previous modules within the Diploma of Financial Planning and the Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning. The assessment is aimed at utilising your skills in understanding and applying some of the concepts contained in the FirstTech Super Guide from Colonial First State. Although it is called a Super Guide, this text goes beyond just superannuation concepts and also addresses taxation, social security and insurance, as all of these topics are interrelated. This assignment contains 6 assessment activities each containing specific instructions. Grading for this assessment will be deemed â€Å"competent† or â€Å"not-yet-competent† in line with specified educational standards under the Australian Qualifications Framework. These answers contain relevant and accurate information in response to the question/s with limited serious e rrors in fact or application. If incorrect information is contained in an answer, it must be fundamentally outweighed by the accurate information provided. This will be assessed against a marking guide provided to assessors for their determination.

Critique & Vanities Essay Example for Free

Critique Vanities Essay Written by an American, Jack Heifner â€Å"Vanities† is a story relating to three young girls from a little town called Texas. The lives of these three girls take a sharp turn in puzzling ways after a deeply intense period at school where they would spend good time flinging themselves into the air and making noises. The girls enjoyed their happy times and shared together but after going away from one another, they forgot everything and separately started their own means of survival. According to the playwright it seems that cheerleaders who are worshipped and envied in high school do not grow up and live charmed lives in their later years. The playwright begins by mentioning his three characters namely Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles and Anneliese van der Pol who acted as cheerleaders sometimes back when they were in high school and college. All the three beautiful girls shown in this pleasant but forgettable play must weather the storm and trouble after putting away their pullovers and saddle shoes. The play begins in a conventional and inconsequential manner; however, it comes in a series of oral plays that are arranged in a sequential order. In the beginning of the play, the three characters are revealed as having a happy life in high school, socializing with one another and even sharing their happy times together. Kathy, who is living in the apartment, plans and organizes a get-together party for the three and though the playwright does not mention the reason behind the holding of the get-together party; it is true that the party was meant to commemorate the happy times and sorrowful times that they had been sharing together. Joanne, to whom life seemed to be still an active convention, is now getting out of shape with time. She is a pretty girl and one who does not care much about the future. Kate Guyton also displays the same characters. Kate Guyton is later engaged in a marriage relationship with Ted who is revealed as the play’s most lively and puzzling characters but does not show herself. Mary as acted by Regan Thompson changes from a sex maniac young girl to a professional marketer of the same trade. She has an art gallery that deals with erotic art despite being married and one of her best customers is none other than the wandering Ted with whom she has an affair. The girls do not seem to learn anything in school. Mary wishes to be a nurse or a psychologist. Kathy does not want to be anything whereas Joanne goes on being a virgin. Ted is arguably the most active and strange character in this play, though he does not take an active role. When Anneliese van der Pol, who is a cheerleader tried to attract her friends attention to bow to the get-together party every thing does not go smoothly since the boys and other social issues keep getting in the way and as result, Anneliese van der Pol’s confidence on the success of the get-together party is rendered hopeless. However, she tries with all her effort to get back to her friends Joanne and Mary. Due to this situation, the playwright uses Kirshenbaum’s music to reflect the kind of dilemma she was undergoing. The young women appear to be in confused states of mind than there before and do not even show the character of leadership despite having been cheerleaders before. Joanne plans a wedding with her former high school sweetheart but at the same time, Mary also plans to travel to Europe in summer. Kathy still doubts the fact that her former friend and schoolmate have married a woman who is already. As a result of this she gets disappointed with men. Mary then comes in to console her friend from her disappointment. This clearly displays the obvious strained relationship of the three girls in this reunion party. The character of cheerleading learned at high school seems to have ended there. It did not go beyond the school gate. At the time the play goes to New York City, the three actresses had been completely changed in their characters from which they had when they were together. Mary who is a prostitute gets angry of her friend Joanne because of her decision to become a housewife and a mother. This problem disturbs Joanne but later reveals it when she gets drunk. The trio-actresses have strong and appealing voices. However, Ms Kennedy looks worried because she has to smoke every time. Or could she be experiencing a difficulty in relating with the others? Probably as they also do not get out of the arena during the short break and they sit at the table of vanity to have time to adjust their makeup. After watching the play I was amazed by the playwrights’ theme of misguided values as shown by the transformation of the characters of the three girls. They experienced overexcitement in high school, life of uncertainty in college and sadness in their final reunion. But is life that vain as the writer tries to show? I don’t think so but it might reflect these trends if the values that one calculates are against the norms or misplaced as the characters reveal. Works cited Heifner Jack â€Å"Vanities† 1963

Go Tell It On A Mountain - Sum Essay -- essays research papers

Part One- The Seventh Day: 1. Summary- The story starts by introducing the active role of church in John’s and his family’s life. Various activities occur on Sunday in church, such as school, hymns, and preaching. On the morning of his birthday, he wakes up to lay in bed, pondering on his past birthdays and events. He falls asleep to wake up late and head to breakfast. Roy’s hardheaded personality is introduced here through an argument with his mother. The argument was based on their father, and his abusive behavior. After breakfast, John is assigned to sweep the front room, which is just one of his many labors around the house. He takes a pause to think of what kind of birthday this is, where no one even remembers it. But his mother comes through and gives him some change to get a gift for himself, so he runs out to the city. On his way there, rage fills him and he daydreams about the white folk in the city looking at him with respect. Respect of him because he’ll own the city. Reality strikes him and he realizes that the people don’t even notice him. After using the money for a movie, he arrives back at home finding out that Roy had been in an incident. His father, aunt, and mother have a dispute and then the next day John heads to church early to open up and clean up. Him and Elisha (a brother and preacher of the church) have a talk. John is told to think about being saved, just as Elisha had been saved. Part Two- The Prayers of the Saints: Florence’s Prayers 1. Summary- This next chapter focuses on John’s aunt, Florence. It begins with Florence at church, she is sorry for her sin yet doesn’t remember how to pray. A few nights before, she had received a threatening message repeatedly and even saw death. The story then jumps back to her youth, where she worked as a servant-girl. She lived with her mother and younger brother, Gabriel. Florence had been a child hood friend with John’s mother, Deborah. Gabriel would be the “apple of her [his mother] eyes';; he would be sent to school, fed more, and treated more specially. For this reason, Florence would resent her brother; she wanted to learn far more than her brother ever did. The story jumps back to John and what he sees in church for a brief moment, then goes in to talk about Florence’s husband... ... confusing chapter of the book. From what I read, it seems that John is on the threshing floor with all these emotions and events going through his head. At first he hears voices, but it’s confusing to tell whom it is coming from. The second set of voices came from above that sounds like his family. As John cries for help, his father comes to the rescue. The assistance is rejected because john does not want to be like his father. Then his father attempts to lead him up the road, but John resists. John thinks for a while and found out how the devil is toying with John. Elisha comes to the rescue by talking with John. This talk raised John’s faith and found his place before the Lord. His mother is happy and smiles, but yet John wants to make sure no one forgets. He tells Elisha, that no matter what happens, he was saved. He explains how he went to the valley and was saved. Elisha tells him that God won’t forget him, and leaves him with a kiss on the forehead. The story ends with a picture perfect scene with the sun out and all. But yet, his father does not smile at John when smiled at him, that is one thing I don’t understand about the ending. Go Tell It On A Mountain - Sum Essay -- essays research papers Part One- The Seventh Day: 1. Summary- The story starts by introducing the active role of church in John’s and his family’s life. Various activities occur on Sunday in church, such as school, hymns, and preaching. On the morning of his birthday, he wakes up to lay in bed, pondering on his past birthdays and events. He falls asleep to wake up late and head to breakfast. Roy’s hardheaded personality is introduced here through an argument with his mother. The argument was based on their father, and his abusive behavior. After breakfast, John is assigned to sweep the front room, which is just one of his many labors around the house. He takes a pause to think of what kind of birthday this is, where no one even remembers it. But his mother comes through and gives him some change to get a gift for himself, so he runs out to the city. On his way there, rage fills him and he daydreams about the white folk in the city looking at him with respect. Respect of him because he’ll own the city. Reality strikes him and he realizes that the people don’t even notice him. After using the money for a movie, he arrives back at home finding out that Roy had been in an incident. His father, aunt, and mother have a dispute and then the next day John heads to church early to open up and clean up. Him and Elisha (a brother and preacher of the church) have a talk. John is told to think about being saved, just as Elisha had been saved. Part Two- The Prayers of the Saints: Florence’s Prayers 1. Summary- This next chapter focuses on John’s aunt, Florence. It begins with Florence at church, she is sorry for her sin yet doesn’t remember how to pray. A few nights before, she had received a threatening message repeatedly and even saw death. The story then jumps back to her youth, where she worked as a servant-girl. She lived with her mother and younger brother, Gabriel. Florence had been a child hood friend with John’s mother, Deborah. Gabriel would be the “apple of her [his mother] eyes';; he would be sent to school, fed more, and treated more specially. For this reason, Florence would resent her brother; she wanted to learn far more than her brother ever did. The story jumps back to John and what he sees in church for a brief moment, then goes in to talk about Florence’s husband... ... confusing chapter of the book. From what I read, it seems that John is on the threshing floor with all these emotions and events going through his head. At first he hears voices, but it’s confusing to tell whom it is coming from. The second set of voices came from above that sounds like his family. As John cries for help, his father comes to the rescue. The assistance is rejected because john does not want to be like his father. Then his father attempts to lead him up the road, but John resists. John thinks for a while and found out how the devil is toying with John. Elisha comes to the rescue by talking with John. This talk raised John’s faith and found his place before the Lord. His mother is happy and smiles, but yet John wants to make sure no one forgets. He tells Elisha, that no matter what happens, he was saved. He explains how he went to the valley and was saved. Elisha tells him that God won’t forget him, and leaves him with a kiss on the forehead. The story ends with a picture perfect scene with the sun out and all. But yet, his father does not smile at John when smiled at him, that is one thing I don’t understand about the ending.

Poliomyelitis Essay -- Communicable Diseases, Nursing

Brief summary of poliomyelitis The purpose of this paper is identifying poliomyelitis which is a fecal-oral group communicable disease worldwide and discussing health interventions to control and eliminate outbreaks and considering ethical dilemmas. The pathogen of poliomyelitis is poliovirus, an enterovirous that is transmitted by fecal-oral route through feces. Respiratory inhalation occurs and the virus initially replicates in the oro-pharynx and then invades the gastrointestinal tract. It can be transmitted via fecal-oral, airborne, water-borne processes, and asymptomatic carrier. (WHO, 2009) Clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic self-limited disease and mild symptoms of combined fever, malaise, fatigue, nausea, headache, flu-like symptoms, stiff neck and back, and pain to severe fetal paralytic disease which may cause death from respiratory failure. Children under five years of age are most at risk. (WHO, 2010) Paralytic poliomyelitis produces muscles pain and affects the lower part of body like the legs. Poliovirus incubates for five to thirty days and becomes communicable two days after disclosure and can remain communicable up to six weeks. Poliomyelitis can be diagnosis by clinical evaluation of viral cultures like spinal fluids, stool samples, throat swabs, and serum antibody levels. (Webber, R., 2010). Public health interventions In Unites States, poliomyelitis is not endemic therefore even one case can become an epidemic. Geographically more than 125 countries remained polio-endemic in 1988. Overall global incidents have decreased by 99% since 1988. Between 2009 and 2010 twenty three poliomyelitis free countries were re-infected due to imported virus. The countries of Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Paki... ...rol: A global perspective (3rded) Cambridge, MA: CABI publishing World Health Organization - Case definition for the four diseases requiring notification in all circumstances under the International Health Regulation (2005). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/ihr/Case_Definitions.pdf POLIOMYELITIS Report Immediately Retrieved from health.utah.gov/epi/diseases/polio/plan/PolioPlan061510.pdf The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studied the illness and death rates before and after widespread implementation of national vaccine recommendations (in place before 2005) for 13 vaccine-preventable diseases; diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella (including congenital rubella syndrome), invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), acute hepatitis B, hepatitis A, varicella (chickenpox), Streptococcus pneumoniae and smallpox.

Basic Economics Definitions Essay

Colander (2010) stated, â€Å"Economics is the study of how human beings coordinate their wants and desires, given the decision-making mechanisms, social customs, and political realities of the society† (p. 4). The main word defining â€Å"economics† would be coordination, and in economics, refers to three central problems that face any economy and how they are solved. These central problems are 1. What and how much to produce. 2. How to produce it. 3. For whom to produce it (Colander, 2010). Individuals frequently assume that economics only concern is with business, money, and supply, and demand. However, economics began as a branch of philosophy, and Alfred Marshall, the 19th century economist describes economics as the study of individuals in the business of everyday life. * Scarcity Colander (2010) stated â€Å"scarcity has two elements: our wants and our means of fulfilling those wants. These can be interrelated since wants are changeable and partially determined by society† (p. 5). Scarcity is a basic problem of economics it has apparent limitless individual wants and needs when the world in fact has limited resources. We as a society have scarce creative resources to fulfill everyone’s wants and needs. * TANSTAAFL Colander (2010) states TANSTAAFL â€Å"economic knowledge in one sentence â€Å"There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch† (p. 7). This acronym is trying to illustrate the cost of spending and decision making, and expresses that there is always a cost whether hidden or indirect even if it may seem like it is free. * Opportunity Cost Colander (2010) states â€Å"Opportunity cost is the benefit that you might have gained from choosing the next-best alternative. To obtain the benefit of something, you must give up something else. TANSTAAFL theory embodies the opportunity cost concept because it tells us that there is a cost to everything; that cost is the next-best forgone alternative† (p. 9). In economics, the term â€Å"opportunity cost† refers to money or benefits lost or given up pursuing a particular path specific path of action instead of an alternative or something else. Almost every decision made in business has an opportunity cost attached to it. For example should a business continue using a particular piece of equipment, or should the business purchase new equipment with additional features, and pay a higher rate. * Production Possibilities Curve Colander (2010) states the definition as â€Å"The production possibility curve is a curve that measures the maximum combination of outputs that can be obtained with a given number of inputs† (p. 29). The â€Å"Production Possibility Curve† is a graph representing the difference in rate when two products are produced with only a specific quantity of resources. For example, Suzie will bake brownies and cookies, but she has only one oven. An area in the oven used for baking brownies is not necessarily used for the cookies; therefore, for each brownie baked there are fewer baked cookies. * Comparative Advantage Colander (2010) states the definition as â€Å"some resources have a comparative advantage over other resources— the ability to be better suited to the production of one good than to the production of another good† (p. 28-29). Comparative advantage is the capability to manufacture services or merchandise at an opportunity cost lower than other individuals or businesses giving the individuals or businesses the capability of selling their services or merchandise at lower pricing than their competitors price. * Business Cycle Colander (2010) states the definition, as â€Å"a business cycle is the upward or downward movement of economic activity that occurs around the growth trend† (p. 158). Business cycles refer to economic fluctuations in trade, production, and economic activity in over several months or years. Economic fluctuations take place throughout long-term growth trends, involving shifts over time showing fast economic growth, and periods of decline. * CPI Colander (2010) states the definition, as â€Å"the consumer price index (CPI) is an index of inflation measuring prices of a fixed basket of consumer goods, weighted according to each component’s share of an average consumer’s expenditures† (p. 171). The CPI or consumer price index is a measurement showing household purchases indicating the change in the price levels of services and consumer goods. The CPI calculates the price changes for each predetermined item in the â€Å"basket of goods† and averages them, and weighted by their importance with the price changes related to the cost of living. * Labor Force To define labor force or workforce, and this is the calculation of every adult whether employed or unemployed. Estimated by The Bureau of Labor Statistics labor is categorized by employed, unemployed or not in the labor force for individuals age 16 and over. Individuals not categorized into the labor force are students, retired, or institutionalized individuals. The labor force changes over periods because of social and demographic changes. * Transfer Payments Colander (2010) states the definition, as â€Å"payments to individuals that do not involve production by those individuals. Transfer payments include Social Security payments, and unemployment insurance† (p. 184). Transfer payments are monies from the government given to individuals such payments include unemployment, social security, disability, and other welfare payments. References * Business cycle. (2013). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/business cycle Comparative advantage. (2013). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comparative advantage Colander, D. C. (2010). Macroeconomics (8th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. (pg. 4, 5, 7, 9, 28-29, 158, 171, 184). Economics. (2013). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/economics Opportunity cost. (2013). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opportunity cost Scarcity. (2013). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scarcity

Chapter 1- Kinematics Regents Physics Essays (420 words) - Motion

Chapter 1- Kinematics Regents Physics Essays (420 words) - Motion Chapter 1- Kinematics Regents Physics One-Dimensional Motion - Speed vs. Velocity 1. SPEED 3190875914400 An object is considered moving when its position changes with time. The speed of an object is the distance the object moves per unit of time . Since we are talking about distance and not displacement, speed is a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object is given by the following equation: v=dt The unit for distance is meters (m) and the unit for time is seconds (s) which makes speed have units of m/s . If speed remains the same throughout the time period, the object is said to have constant speed or uniform motion . If the speed varies, the motion is non - uniform . For example: The school bus covers a distance of 400 meters in 20 seconds. What is the average speed of the bus? Johnny rides his bicycle 40 meters north and 20 meters east in 10 seconds. What is Johnny's average speed ? A bowling ball races down the 19 meter alley in 3 seconds. What is the ball's average speed? 2. VELOCITY The velocity of an object is the time rate of change of its displacement . Therefore, velocity is a vector quantity having both magnitude and direction. In velocity problems, make sure you find the displacement first! The average velocity of an object is given by the equation: v=dt Pretty much the same equation as before yielding the same units (m/s) ; only this time you are using displacement ( direction matters!!!) Make sure your answer includes direction. For example: Johnny rides his bicycle 40 meters north and 20 meters east in 10 seconds. What is Johnny's average velocity ? A fighter jet flies 3 km west and then 2 km east in 8 minutes. Determine the jet's average velocity. (Remember to convert!) Lucy runs to her classroom which is 20 meters away. She forgets her physics book in her locker and must return 20 meters in the direction from whence she came. If her total trip takes 3 minutes, what is Lucy's average velocity? Ron takes his car out for a joy ride and travels 400 meters north. He then travels 100 meters east and picks up his buddy Chris. They then stop at a 7-11 which is 200 meters south from Chris's house. If the total trip takes 10 minutes, determine the average velocity of Ron's car. (Draw a picture!)

What Is a College Legacy What If Youre Not a Legacy

What Is a College Legacy What If You're Not a Legacy SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Many high school students are curious about what it means to be a college legacy. Exactly who counts as a legacy? How much does it help you when it comes to admissions? And what if you’re not a legacy?In this article, we discuss what a college legacy is, which top schools favor legacies, and what you should do- regardless of whether or not you’re a legacy! What Is a College Legacy? Overview First off, what exactly is a college legacy? A legacy is someone who is related to an alumnus of a school- usually a child of a graduate. More distant relations (such as aunts, uncles, and cousins) rarely count. Grandparents sometimes, but not always, count. To take an example, if your mom graduated from Harvard College, you'd be considered a Harvard legacy. However, if your uncle graduated from Harvard Law School, you would not be considered a Harvard legacy.Basically,if one or both of your parents graduated from a school, you would be considered a legacy there. Note, though, that undergraduate admissions offices will be most interested if your parents went there for their undergraduate degrees. If your parents instead got professional degrees andnottheir undergraduate degreesfrom the school, it's less likely you'd be counted as a legacy during the undergraduate admissions process. Legacy status is valued by colleges mainly for economic and community-building reasons. The belief is that when schools admit children of alumni, those alumni will be more likely to stay involved with the school (such as by going to reunions, serving on committees, etc.) and donate money to it. Many schoolsalso believe that legacies will be very active alumni due to their family connection with the school. In short, colleges believe that admitting legacies is a way to not only keep alumni involved but also to ensure a new generation of active alumni. How Much Does Legacy Status Matter? Even though there are many perceived benefits to admitting legacies, legacies aren't even close to a majority of the student body at top schools. Furthermore, being a legacy is far from being a guarantor of admission at a top school. In most cases, being a legacy not going to magically transform a candidate’s chances of admission. If a student's standardized test scores and GPA are below a school’s averages and the student has no meaningful extracurricular involvement, being a legacy won’t guarantee admission. As a Harvard admissions officer once said, "Legacy can cure the sick, but it can’t raise the dead." Being a legacy is often referred to as a push, plus, or tie-breaker. If a candidate is on the bubble, being a legacy could tip him or her over the edge. In fact, here's what Harvard says about legacieson its admissions website: "Among a group of similarly distinguished applicants, the daughters and sons of Harvard College alumni/ae may receive an additionallook." In other words, being a legacy could be a tipping factor in admissions. That said,it’s still far from a guarantee of admission and won’t get an otherwise unimpressive candidate into a school. But this varies by school. Some schools value legacies more than others do, or give them more weight at different points in the admissions process. We’ll explore some of this variation soon. Examples of College Legacy Policies: Harvard, Penn, and MIT In this section, we’ll go over three examples of top schools to explore in what ways legacy status can (and won't) affect your admission chances. The schools we'll be looking at are as follows: Harvard University of Pennsylvania MIT We chose these examples because they reveal some of the sharp differences that can exist when it comes to legacy policies at top schools. Harvard College: "An Additional Look" Harvard is a school that values legacies, at least to a degree. As we mentioned above, Harvard says in their FAQ that the sons and daughters of Harvard alumni will get "an additional look" if the admissions committee can't decide between otherwise comparable candidates. But how much does this "extra look" matter? According to a class of 2021 survey, 17.5% of students at Harvard have at least one parent who is an alumnus. And according to a 2011 article in TheHarvard Crimson, legacies are admitted at a rate of 30%. Given that Harvard’s acceptance rate hovers just below 6%, this seems like more than just an "additional look"- it's actually a pretty big advantage! That said, children of Harvard alumni are more likely to have grown up with more money, gone to better schools, and received superior college counseling,meaning that their legacy status more likely inadvertently caused them to get in rather than acting as the deciding factor. This also helps to explain the huge disparity between the 30% admit rate for legacies and the 6% overall admit rate. All in all, if you’re a Harvard legacy, expect this "additional look" to be a factor in your favor if, based on your stats, you'd already be competitive at Harvard. Penn: Legacy Matters, but Matters More When You Apply Early The University of Pennsylvania notes on its admissions website, "An applicant’s affiliation with Penn, either by being children or grandchildren of alumni, is given the most consideration through Early Decision." We get two pieces of information here. First, at Penn, having a grandparent who is an alum will grant you legacy status, where Harvard seems to only care if your parents went there. But also, if you’re a legacy, you’ll get the biggest boost if you apply early (note that at Penn, early admission is binding). Legacies get a pretty significant admission boost at Penn. According to an article published in their alumni magazine, legacies get into Penn at a rate higher than 40%. That’s four times the overall admission rate of 10%! (For the class of 2021, 16% are legacies.) Furthermore, alumni get additional admissions resources. Here's what the article above says about this: "Other admissions resources for alumni include monthly 'First Friday Drop-In Hours,' which are information sessions especially for alumni, faculty, and staff and their children held on campus, and the 'Inside Penn Admissions' page, www.admissions.upenn.edu/inside." Even though legacies are particularly favored during early decision at Penn, between the additional resources for alumni and that high admit rate, being a legacy seems to be a significant plus. MIT: "We Don't Do Legacy" In contrast to Harvard and Penn, being a legacy will not help you a bit at MIT. This makes MIT unusual among other top schools, as explained in post by MIT Admissions that sharply criticizes legacy admissions: "It is, indeed, unusual for a school like MIT to have no preference for legacies.But one of the things that makes MIT special is the fact that it is meritocratic to its cultural core.* In fact, I think if we tried to move towards legacy admissions we might face an alumni revolt. There is only one way into (and out of) MIT, and that's the hard way. The people here value that." *Emphasis mine MIT prides itself on being as meritocratic as possible, so they don’t consider the legacy status of students applying.Even if both your parents graduated from MIT, it won’t help you get in! This makes for a more level playing field for students who apply to MIT, even though it’s still a very tough field to play on! Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. The Top 25: Which Colleges Care About Legacy? We’ve seen some pretty different policies regarding legacy admissions at three top schools. So out of the top 25 schools (according toUS News), which ones place value on legacy students? As it turns out, most of them do. Only a small handful of top schools (including MIT) don’t value legacies. Get a complete breakdown of the top 25 below. Colleges That Value Legacies These are the colleges in the top 25 that grant at least some favoritism to legacies during the admissions process. This varies from just taking the information into account as part of a holistic application review to specifically reaching out to alumni families and providing them with additional resources. Brown Here's what a 2014 article in theBrown Daily Herald says about legacy: "Having a parent who attended Brown comes into play when applicants 'are essentially equivalent,' in which case admission officers 'will tilt toward the candidate whose parents attended the college,' Miller said. Admission officers give 'small'consideration to grandparent legacy status and 'almost no' weight to sibling legacy cases, he added." Again, we see that legacy status is a tilt or push in an applicant's favor. Carnegie Mellon Carnegie Mellon offers special events for legacies and their families, including preferential seating at graduation. Note that Carnegie Mellon uses a rather broad definition of legacies, defining them as "those students who have family members that also graduated from CMU, including parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and other known relatives"(bold emphasis mine). Columbia Columbia has a legacy policy that's similar to Harvard's: "When an applicant is extremely competitive and compares favorably with other similarly talented candidates, being the daughter or son of a Columbia University graduate (from any Columbia school or college) may be a slight advantage in the admission process." Cornell Here's what theCornell Daily Sunsays about legacies(bold emphasis mine): "According to statistics released by Cornell, 15 percent of Cornell’s entire undergraduate population is comprised of legacy students. This figure is higher than percentages at many of Cornell’s Ivy League counterparts." Dartmouth Dartmouth Alumni Magazine says the following about legacies (bold emphasis mine): "We give all legacy applicants at least one additional review in this process. The dramatic increase in selectivity that we’ve experienced makes the admissions process more competitive for everyone, but our legacy applicants are admitted at a rate that’s roughly two-and-a-half times greater than the overall rate of admission. It’s never easy to turn away the children of Dartmouth alumni." Duke Here is what the Duke alumni website says in regard to legacy (bold emphasis mine): "Alumni affiliation by no means ensures admission to Duke. However, the university recognizes that applicants from alumni families possess a meaningful connection to Duke and its traditions. Admissions officers give special consideration to these applicants, including an additional round of review." Emory Here's what Emory has to say about how it values legacies, as written on its alumni website: "The admission staff and Emory Alumni Association (EAA) work closely to document legacy applicants through the admission-review process. During the initial application review, an applicant's legacy status is noted on the review sheet and admission evaluators are instructed to consider the affiliation. In addition, during the committee-review process, there is a separate committee that does an additional review of legacy applicants. Finally, the deans of admission for Emory College and Oxford College closely monitor legacy decisions throughout the entire process. Note that legacies at Emory are those who are the children, grandchildren, and/or siblings of Emory graduates and/or currently enrolled students. Georgetown We called the admissions office and got this information about legacies: "In early action we don't review legacy; during regular decision we will....It's not a huge factor [but] it's something that we will notice as part of an overall holistic review process." In contrast to Penn, which gives most weight to legacies during early decision, if you apply to Georgetown, legacy status will only be considered under regular decision. Furthermore, here's what a 2017 article in Georgetown's newspaper The Hoya reported about legacy: "While the Office of Undergraduate Admissions does not actively recruit legacy students, it does consider family ties to the university when evaluating students of equal academic standing, and gives preference to students with legacy status in those cases." Harvard As discussed above, Harvard will give legacy applicants "an additional look" and admits them at a higher rate than it does non-legacy candidates. Johns Hopkins We spoke to the admissions staff at Johns Hopkins to ask about how legacy status will affect an application. Here was their response: "It doesn't make a difference if you apply early or regular; you need to make sure that you correctly note your legacy status on the application. We'll look at it [but] it's not going to have a lot of weight." Northwestern Here's what was written an email from Northwestern's admissions office: "During the application process we do take into consideration whether a student has a sibling, parent, or grandparent that graduated from Northwestern. However, it is important to note that no admission decision will ever be made solely based on legacy status. In other words, this is just one additional positivepiece of informationthat we look at, but will not be the deciding factor." Notre Dame Here's what an article published in Notre Dame's TheObserversaysabout legacies: "The number of admitted legacy children remains higher than at most elite colleges, Bishop said. Twenty-four percent of this year’s admitted class is a legacy compared to about 12 percent at most top 10 schools, he said, but this is because legacy applicants tend to be very qualified." Princeton Here's what a 2015 article in the Daily Princetonianreports about legacy: "The acceptance rate for alumni children and step-children has wavered without a specific trend between 35 and 42 percent since the Class of 2000, with the Class of 2018 hitting a record low of 30.8 percent, according to the Princeton Profiles." Recall that Princeton's regular admission rate is just 7%, so this "low" of 30.8% is still quite high. Rice Here's what we received in an email from Rice's admissions office: "There is no specific benefit that is implemented across the board for the children of alumni. Often, legacy status is viewed favorably, but that is mainly a function of a student knowing about Rice-specific opportunities and being able to effectively communicate their interest in Rice through the supplement and visits to campus." Stanford Legacies are admitted at three times the rate of other applicants, according to an article in Stanford Magazine. Admission is also dependent on how engaged the alumni have been with the university. University of Chicago Here's what UChicago said on its Tumblr account in regard to legacy: "Legacy status is something that we can consider, but in a holistic admissions process, it is one of many many factors that will be a part of our decision-making process- and would not be something that could overcome an otherwise lackluster application." University of Pennsylvania As we discussed above, Pennfavors legacy applicants and offers extra services to legacy families. University of Southern California We called USC and spoke with an admissions representative who told us the following: "We certainly want to know you have a parent who graduated from USC ... that piece of information would certainly be of interest for us." USC only has a regular decision plan and an earlier deadline for scholarships (December 1). Legacy status will not factor at all into scholarship consideration. In addition, here's whata 2017 article on USC's undergraduate admission blog says about legacy: "Roughly 19 percent of the first-year students joining USC for the 2017-2018 school year are Scions. But, legacy status is, on its own, not going to be the deciding factor in the evaluation of a student’s application. There are many factors that we are considering when making our decisions, and legacy status is just one part of that." University of Virginia The University of Virginia has an admission liaison program set up to help children of alumni navigate the admissions process. This is noteworthy since UVA is a public university, and public universities are much less likely to notice and favor legacy ties. (The University of Michigan favors legacies as well.) Vanderbilt This is what Vanderbilt's FAQ pagehas to say about legacy: "The admissions office has received no mandate from the university administration to grant preference to the children or siblings of Vanderbilt alumni. When a student‘s record closely mirrors those of other students being offered admission, legacy status may be taken into consideration." Similar to Harvard's policy, legacy status could be a tipping factor if the admissions committee can't decide between two or more similar candidates. Washington University in St. Louis We contacted the admissions office at Washington University and received this reply: "We take into account that your family has ties to the university, however, we still evaluate each student on the merits of their own application." Yale Here's what a New York Times article has written about Yale's legacy policy: "'We turn away 80 percent of our legacies, and we feel it every day,' Mr. Brenzel said, adding that he rejected more offspring of the school’s Sterling donors than he accepted this year (Sterling donors are among the most generous contributors to Yale). He argued that legacies scored 20 points higher on the SAT than the rest of the class as a whole." Still, 20% of legacies getting in is still a much higher rate than the average admission rate at Yale, which currently hovers atjust 7%. Colleges That Do NOT Value Legacies These schools offer zero consideration or additional help to children of alumni in the admissions process. Caltech This is what a 2010 articlehad to say about Caltech's policies on legacies: "Throughout its history Caltech has never been interested in reaching out in any special way to alumni children, and according to one estimate, less than 2 percent of its current undergraduate students have a parent who attended the university. This compares with many other elite private colleges and universities where legacy students comprise as much as 10-15 percent of each entering class (at Notre Dame the figure is close to one-quarter)." Additionally, Caltech is often mentioned alongside MIT as a top research schoolwith no legacy preference. MIT As we discussed above, MIT grants no weight to legacy status during application review. UC Berkeley Like both Caltech and MIT,UC Berkeley does not consider legacy statusduring the undergraduate admissions process. UCLA UCLA is similar to Caltech and UC Berkeley in that it abolished legacy favoritism long agoand has no legacy policy currently in place. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. How to Maximize Your Admissions Chances, Legacy or Not Even though so many top (and mostly private) colleges favor legacies, it's important to remember that legacies are usually only 10-25% of the overall class- typically closer to 10% or 15%. The boost you'd get from being a legacy isn’t any bigger than the one you'd get from having an excellent SAT/ACT score or an intriguing "spike" in your application (which we’ll discuss below). The bottom line is to have the best application possible- legacy or not. With that in mind, here's how to deal with your legacy/non-legacy status when you apply to colleges: If You Are a Legacy †¦ First off, find out what your parents’ alma maters’ policies are regarding legacies. This could affect your admissions strategy. For example, if one of your parents went to Penn, you’re going to have to decide whether you want to take full advantage of your legacy status by applying early decision.Note, however, that applying early decision means you’re committing to go there if admitted (which you have a stronger chance of if you’re a legacy!). This brings me to my second point:don't apply to a school just because you’re a legacy. Colleges are looking for genuine interest in the school. True, you might be naturally interested in your parents’ alma maters since you likely heard a lot about them while growing up. But the final decision rests with you. If you’re only applying because you’re a legacy and don’t indicate your genuine excitement for the school, admissions offices will pick up on that. Furthermore, even if you do get in, you don’t want to end up at a school you’re not super excited about! Finally, remember that even with legacy admission rates between 20%and 50%, this still means many colleges are turning away more than half of legacies who apply.In other words, you’re not getting an automatic pass from admissions officers just by being a legacy. In the end, there is no substitute for a high SAT/ACT score, a strong GPA, and an overall compelling application. If You Are NOT a Legacy †¦ First of all, you can’t do anything to change your legacy or non-legacy status, so I recommend spending approximately zero minutes stressing about it. On a more serious note, though, don't forget that even at schools that favor legacies, legacies are never the majority in an incoming class. Rather, they usually account for between 10% and 25% of the undergraduate population. This means 75-90% of the students in a class are not legacies, so you’re in good company. At the end of the day, admissions officers are looking for top students. And though legacies are desirable, so are students with top scores, great grades, and impressive extracurriculars (a "spike," as we call it around here). Rather than worry about your lack of legacy status, focus on being as competitive as possible. That includes maximizing your SAT/ACT score! Tip the scales in your favor. Also, spend a good deal of time on your"Why this college?" essay. Most schools have spaceon their applications- whether it’s a short response or long essay- for you to explain what exactly it is that draws you to this college. Since you’re not a legacy, you won’t be able to talk about visiting the campus as a child or hearing your parents’ fond memories of the school- but that might be for the better. Make sure you have concrete, specific, and compelling reasons for why you want to go to this particular school, and state them clearly! Ultimately, an essay that discusses how excited you are to explore the computer science department and work with certain professors will likely look a lot better than a legacy’s essay about her fond childhood memories of visiting the main quad. At the end of the day, legacy status is a factor out of your control. That said, your GPA, SAT/ACT score, extracurricular activities, and essays are entirely within your control. So try to focus on those- and on being a strong applicant! Further Reading on College Legacy Legacy admissions is a pretty controversial topic at colleges, and we didn’t want to get embroiled in the debate, which is why we’re not taking a side in regard to whether legacy admissions are a good idea or not. Rather, our aim was tofocus on practical advice for you, given that the system is what it is. If you want to read more about legacy admissions, including how they work, how colleges benefit from them, and whether this system is good or bad, here are some articles to check out. First of all, I suggestlearning more about why some colleges value legacy ties so much. Next, get an in-depth look at the admissions process at Stanford and see how legacies seem to be favored. Also, learn about the other side- what happens when a legacy kid doesn’t get in? Finally, here is a study that found legacy applicants have vastly increased odds of admission. This studyhas been quoted in many op-eds against the practice, including those published inThe New York Times and The Harvard Crimson. What’s Next? Not a legacy? Not a problem. Read about how to make yourself a student that even Harvard and Stanford will fight over. Have you taken the SAT or ACT yet? Learnthe best time in your high school career to take the SAT (ACT version here). Thinking about an SAT/ACT retake? Learn the top nine ACT English strategies you should use as well asthe best methods and strategies for SAT Writing. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: