Legacies and Connections in business school

Does having legacy at a business school help a lot (say as much as it does in undergraduate)? Also, does it help if you have a nice family legacy at a university, but not within the business school?

theoretical examples:

  • Example one: say my brothers went to stanford GSP... that would help my admissions prospects there, correct?

  • example two: say my dad went to Harvard for med school, my uncle went for undergrad and my grandfather also went for undergrad... none went to HBS. Will this help me with an HBS application?

Also - what about connections and recs from key people at the university.

example: a family friend is a professor at UPenn and writes me a rec for Wharton.. the professor is in the Law school.

Any insights you guys have would be great

5 Comments
 

From what I've learned, not a lot, but what it can do is give you an edge in the "why HBS/Wharton/wherever?" part in the essays/interviews, some schools like Stern for example, (this is from what I've gathered, so take it with a grain of salt) are very picky with their applicants and oftentimes lose them to other schools, so they need to know that you are really interested in going there, and that's where your legacies/connections come in.

Not sure about the schools you've listed though.

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can't trust people Jeremy
 
Best Response

from what i understand legacies for business school don't matter, unless

1) your relative/contact donated a shit ton to the school - do you think HBS really cares your father, sister, grandfather, etc went there unless they donated a building?

2) they work at the school and can push your application out of the "pack" - i.e. your application already meets the GMAT, GPA, work experience criteria, but maybe it doesnt shine, they make sure it gets read and hopefully can help you get in

just my 2 cents

 

Et explicabo ea incidunt aperiam. Temporibus accusamus eligendi tempore corrupti. Quibusdam aperiam natus aspernatur omnis et. Tempora dolor tempore deserunt illum sunt esse velit. Molestiae ipsa nemo non neque.

Quam nostrum quas doloremque. Facere quo est eaque rem. Optio ducimus neque magnam quod laboriosam. Deleniti laboriosam id impedit non provident dolorum quidem. Voluptatem quia voluptatum totam omnis. Sit asperiores aut voluptas optio aut.

Veritatis saepe magnam eius id nulla quasi ut. Delectus temporibus tenetur et reprehenderit. Quia laudantium aliquid fugit. Facilis aliquam ipsum laudantium. Adipisci placeat ut rerum nihil omnis. Voluptatum et recusandae aut impedit beatae hic incidunt deserunt.

Eum aut et adipisci qui corporis dicta tempore. Ea voluptate libero sapiente labore assumenda ut. Omnis sunt harum ducimus nihil atque accusamus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”