Admission to a top 20 college institution in the US has become seen as a golden ticket to life success. Having a degree from a prestigious top university makes you a top competitor in the job market against your peers applying for the same jobs. 

As someone who is applying to college in the coming fall, I have become aware of just how important every part of your application must be when you are trying to get admitted to a school with a 7.5% acceptance rate. I have become glaringly aware that without a test score, every part of my application must exceed the standards of the universities I am applying to. 

On the Common Application, students can fill out where their parents went to school. In the past, applicants whose parents went to the university they are applying to have been more likely to be admitted. I believe this is just practice — having parents that went to the university, paid the tuition of the university and received a degree from the university should be considered when students are applying to school. 

Parents that go to college to create a better life for their future children should be able to give something to their children as a way of paying their hard work forward. Receiving a college degree from a top university isn’t an easy feat and your kids should be able to benefit from that. 

My great-grandparents went to Northwestern University (NU), my grandfather attended law school at NU, my aunt attended NU and my mom attended NU. This makes me a triple legacy. With Northwestern’s 7% acceptance rate, this could potentially enhance my application in relation to an applicant whose family members did not attend the university. 

I believe that being able to add this to your application is a fair and representative way to encompass who you are and where you come from.