<p>I ave a question regarding admittance at highly selective Ivy leagure schools. I have known many, many intelligent, hard-working serious students who have been rejected by Harvard, and I can't help wondering about the qualifications of Albert Gore Jr. and how he was able to get into this school. He has had several run-ins with the police for drug and alcohol abuse, dating back to his teen years. Does anyone know if his admittance was really due to his superior academic performance, stellar grades, advanced leadership qualities, etc. or merely because of his last name? I am not so dumb as to not know that preference is given to prestiious names, but it seems as if Harvard should be above this--in my mind, it paints a very dim picture of the school and makes it less reputable. Can someone who knows more about him let me know--would Al Gore Jr. have gotten into Harvard if his name was Al Brown?</p>
<p>Without getting too political, I view Harvard as a liberal setting, so IMO, they are going to admit a top liberal leader's kid without thinking twice. Is it right? Probably not. Does it happen at a number of very highly respected institutions? Probably.</p>
<p>This is just my opinion</p>
<p>I don't think it has anything to do with the school or the leader being "liberal". Any offspring of a highly visible political figure will get admitted to any school, as long as they fulfill the minimum academic requirements. I am sure Dick Cheney's child would have been admitted just as easily.</p>
<p>nngmm:</p>
<p>For an example on the 'right', look no further than the White House. Did W get into both Yale and Harvard on his own merits, or because of his family?</p>
<p>Well, yes George Jr. is a perfect example of what I'm talking about, but that was 40+ years ago, when there was not as much competition about getting into Ivy Leagues--there are many Harvard alumni today who admit that they would not be accepted under today's rigerous requirements--if some of these schools are so "holier-than-thou" and righteous about their academic standing, shouldn't they look a little closer at their own policies? Now, maybe Al Jr. could have gotten in on his own merits, but with so many qualitied candidates, I don't understand how a student with a police record could be admitted.</p>
<p>Who is to say what Al Gore III's academic qualifications were...I don't think they are common knowledge as GWB's are. Just because your parents are famous doesn't mean you are dumb. </p>
<p>Having a famous/rich parent is like being a URM--it is just assumed that you don't belong and wouldn't have gotten into XYZ College without the boost.</p>
<p>Even without the famous last name, some kids with very spotty personal conduct records are admitted to extremely selective schools. I really do wonder about some of those choices as there are so many qualified applicants to choose from. It would seem intuitive to me that if you have a small class to fill and many applicants from which to choose, you would consider those aspects before taking a risk on someone who has demonstrated high levels of irresponsibility. IMHO, there is not any reason someone could give me that would justify taking someone with an extremely troubled and spotty record into a setting that grants the most privilege (freedom) coupled with the least responsibility, esp if the institution can afford to be very selective.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Al Gore III is a legacy (Al Gore Jr roomed with Tommy Lee Jones at Harvard). I believe all the Gore kids attended Harvard. Two other possible hooks: celebrity status of dad; and already/potential major donor. Same situation as Bill Frist's son at Princeton.</p>
<p>Well said, berurah! If these schools hold themselves up as bastions of the truly brilliantly elite, then they besmirch their reputations by accepting these kids, famous, legacy, or not. And there are many stories here about how being a legacy isn't a sure thing in the ivy application process anymore (unless its ED, and even then...). However, the money...rather hypocritical for such liberal institutions to go for the money. Do as I say, not as I do??????</p>
<p>Why wouldn't Harvard take AGIII? Legacy, developmental, and celeb.</p>
<p>Even more publicity and coverage, more money, and so on. As long as these types of picks aren't done in excess, it is a very positive thing for you and I.</p>
<p>These kids make up maybe .5% of an incoming class, so we have that ever so slightly harder shot at getting in. But, if you or me, Mr. Regular Joe, gets in(once again with the %'s being nearly identical with or without), we get that new athletic facility, or the addition to the library, or larger, better dorms. And, if that kid really isn't up to par, it'll boost your class rank.</p>
<p>I'm with marite, it's a no-brainer....big money = big bucks in potential donations. I don't think it would matter if it were a conservative's kid.</p>
<p>
Sometimes there is a real disconnect between what one reads here on CC and anecdotal accounts one encounters nearly daily. I've heard it stated many times that the plural of anecdote isn't evidence. I would beg to differ.</p>
<p>Anyone whose kid is attending college on merit aid or need-based financial aid might consider where the money for this aid comes from before casting stones at colleges for admitting the children of big donors. The alternative is totally government subsidized education, aka raising taxes far higher than what most Americans are willing to countenance and limiting access to education (the proportion of college-going young adults being higher in the US than in other countries).
If other scenarios suggest themselves, let's hear them.</p>
<p>
Please correct me if I'm misinterpreting you, marite, but what I'm reading in your above post is that if someone isn't wealthy enough to afford an elite school and thus receives financial aid, s/he is not welcome to hold the opinion that all applicants admitted to a school that prides itself on its esteemed position should be held to the same excellent standard for admittance as the majority of others are? </p>
<p>There are plenty of big donors out there whose kids demonstrate excellent personal conduct and who would be an asset to a class at any elite institution. Btw, Melinda Gates has two degrees from Duke! :)</p>
<p> [quote] Gates tells kids that her own mother never went to college and regretted it. "My sister and I were the first women in our family to go to college," she says. "It was difficult for my parents to pay for it." She says she chose Duke University because it had a strong program in computers.
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<p>I strongly suspect, marite, that my son will one day return to Duke University that which has been so generously laid before him by a very fine and generous institution. I'm thankful that this school does not see him as being somehow "lesser" because he needed financial aid. It's a pay it forward thang.... :)</p>
<p>Just the premise that "Rich, well-connected, and Ivy League = Good behavior" is hilarious.</p>
<p>Yeah, but Melinda's master's is from Stanford.</p>
<p>Well, I guess I could whine about how the rich kid on my son's soccer team drove a car that cost more than I made in two years..</p>
<p>There are two classes in America, the wealthy and the not. The wealthy do not have the same experiences the general population has. It is fruitless to sit and complain that they take up space at colleges. It has always been that way and always will be that way. </p>
<p>However, I learned to take heart in these underqualifed offspring of the wealthy... the money they bring in and give to the universities help pay for dozens of kids whose families could never afford such schools. So on the scale of what's wrong with this place, I would put the admittence of some wealthy very low on the scale of injustices taking place. In fact, I encourage them to go to college and their parents to give generously.. that way 100 over deserving kids can attend school because money goes away as an issue.</p>
<p>
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<p>
[quote]
Melinda Gates is the wife of the richest man in the world, which makes her one of the most powerful women in the world according to the Forbes business magazine (ranked 12th in 2006). Along with her husband she founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and continues to spend much of her time working in the organization.</p>
<p>She was born in Dallas Texas in 1964 as Melinda Ann French. Melinda received her bachelors degree in economics and computer science at the Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She then went on to receive an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 1987.
[/quote]
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<p>Without getting into the particulars of AGIII,do we really want to say that one mistake as a teenager means you should be barred from top colleges--or from a flagship state U for that matter?
Believe it or not, I know some kids who aren't legacies or developmental cases who got into top schools despite youthful mistakes. Now, in AGIII's case it doesn't look as if he really turned over a new leaf, but I don't think Harvard admissions had a perfect crytal ball when he was 16 or 17.</p>
<p>
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<p>Unfortunately, the young man has demonstrated a pattern of irresponsible behavior:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Gore was arrested on suspicion of drug possession and booked into the Inmate Reception Center in Santa Ana, about 34 miles south of Los Angeles, on $20,000 bail. Although he quickly identified himself as the son of the former vice president, Amormino said Gore received no special privileges.</p>
<p>Gore made bail and was released at 2 p.m., Amormino said. He will receive notice of a court date within 30 days.</p>
<p>The youngest child and only son of the former vice president, Gore has had previous brushes with the law. He was arrested in 2003 for marijuana possession and in 2002 for suspected drunken-driving.
[/quote]
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<p>And, no, I would not personally hold one youthful mistake against anyone. A demonstrated pattern of behavior, whether in someone rich, famous and connected or not, I consider an entirely different matter.</p>