<p>Oh, I totally agree. You know what they say, the A students usually end up working for the C students.</p>
<p>It is clear that when it comes to certain "well connected" applicants, adcoms who generally make principled decisions are forced to abandon all standards. Big donors have power and that reality is unlikely to change quickly. </p>
<p>The interesting question raised by this article concerns actual numbers. If a few underqualified applicants are admitted out of "realpolitik" necessity, most people will accept this as an imperfection in the sytem. If the number of these admits is as high as 15% then many will question the integrity of the entire process.</p>
<p>A Dean of Arts and Sciences at a "top five" university once told me, "Our A students will publish a few articles that a handful of people might read. Our C students will build our libraries and laboratories."</p>
<p>I've started reading the book by the author of the article mentioned in this thread. It's pretty interesting. I need to look up the admissions research study that he cites, as that is key to evaluating the author's claims.</p>