What is a Legacy? A Legacy is a person whose mother, grandmother, is a member of the sorority she wants to join, or who's father, grandfather is a member of the fraternity he wants to become a member of.
What's the deal behind being a legacy? Is it helpful? Hurtful? Does it guarantee you a spot in the organization of your choice? Sometime it's helpful, and other times it does not matter. I would highly suggest that you do your research. There are some organizations out there that have a legacy, where there is a place that you can put that on your application. Alpha Kappa Alpha, has an application for legacies that can be found here:
http://www.aka1908.com/pdf/undergrad_legacy_app_5_07.pdf
For this organization, however, your mother/grandmother/stepmother being a member of AKA is not enough, according to their website, they must have a living family member must have been active for at least two (2) years immediately preceding the membership. Other organizations have guidelines behind legacy status as well. I have a few friends who according to them, became AKAs due to their legacy status. They were proud of that it, and I was happy for them. Becoming a member of these organizations is hard enough, so if the organization of your choice has a legacy clause giving you extra "bonus points" in becoming a member, I say go for it! More power to a ya! As far as Delta is a concern we do NOT have a legacy clause for membership. If your mother/grandmother is an active and financial member of DST, then you will have to apply and go through the same steps that other prospective members have to go through who do not have a family member in that particular organization. For some of my sorors, this is a bitter pill to swallow since there have been cases where their daughters did NOT make line. Some find being a legacy a problem because at several colleges and universities, they have a cap of how many people can be accepted into membership. If the organization have a legacy clause, then it becomes harder for prospects who are not legacy. For example, XYZ university has a cap of 50 members. 40 prospective members are legacy members. That would mean that there are only 10 spots left.
Some prospective members feel since their father/mother/grandfather/grandmother etc. is a member, and then they are a "shoe in" for that organization. That is NOT the case. None of my family members were Deltas when I went through MIP and even if they were, if I had the option, I would choose NOT to use their membership status to gain membership into the organization. I would have preferred to become a member through my merit! If you decide rely on your legacy status then I say go for it. No one will shame you for it, and it's really no one's business other than you, and the organization that you are trying to become a member of.
In conclusion, unless that particular organization has a certain set of rules about legacy, I would NOT rely on the fact that your family member is a member to guarantee you a spot! Instead, I would use them to ask question surrounding the organization about the rush, interview, and any advice they can give you about becoming a member. My personal feelings about legacy? There is nothing wrong with being a legacy. If I had a daughter, I would hope she would follow my footsteps and become a member of my organization. I would hope to prepare her enough that she will be able to one day, share the other half of her mid, with my mid.
