Bribery works at Duke??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Duke University
1

<p>Im a rising senior and am possibly thinking about applyting to Duke. The only problem is that Im not sure if Duke equally views its applicants.</p>

<p>Theres one girl from my school (she's going to be a freshman at Duke this fall) who's the daughter of a major CEO in north carolina. She wasn't that smart- not much extracurriculars and not much academic pursuits. The only thing she did was orchestra. I also heard that she didn't do well on the SAT. How did she get in? The only thing I can think of is... her dad, connections, money. </p>

<p>How can I go to a school like this? It's honestly upsetting. Money and spoiled children> brains and hardworking students.</p>

2

<p>There’s still a lot of seats open for kids with talent. BTW money is the ultimate preference.</p>

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<p>cdddd96: Are you sure – absolutely certain – this “girl from your school” performed in such an undistinguished manner? You make several quite negative assertions; perhaps you’re correct, however, you may be influenced by popular rumor, not fact. Obviously, I don’t know, but I would respectfully suggest you be sure, before you make decisions based on potentially erroneous information.</p>

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<p>A major CEO in NC has major $, major political pull, major connections, and can offer major internships and jobs to Duke graduates. So she made a couple B’s or her SAT is 100 points below the mean, she has a lot to bring to the table that 25,000 applicants can not. Remember, Duke is a private university and should do what’s in it’s best interest and what is in the best interest of it’s students. What do you bring Duke and it’s students?</p>

5

<p>I agree with TopTier that “popular opinion” about another student’s application can differ greatly with reality.</p>

<p>I would also point out that while OP states that “the only thing she did was orchestra”, Jabari Parker was admitted to Duke’s class of 2017 and the only thing he did was basketball. Adcoms aren’t necessarily looking for well-rounded students, they are looking for a well-rounded class.</p>

<p>Even if the only reason that the applicant was admitted was her daddy’s money, that is a significant reason. A single check for one million dollars can make a considerable impact - almost twenty full scholarships, new laboratories, a new computer cluster, and endowed faculty position, etc.</p>

6

<p>“How can I go to a school like this? It’s honestly upsetting. Money and spoiled children> brains and hardworking students.”</p>

<p>Simple answer. Don’t apply.</p>

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<p>“Bribery”? You mean like outright offering a school money to accep a student? Such a crass approach. may not work. There are is an art ot bribery as well, though who knows? If you aren’t in the crowd that can offer the sufficient amounts, its’ not gonna happen with you. I can tell you upfront that I know a lot of students, like hundreds of them, whose parents were extremely wealthy, influential and even celebrities who were turned down by colleges even when they could have been accepted without an eyebrow being raised as they had the academic stats to fit well into the accepted pool. </p>

<p>My sons went to an independent school that is highly competitive and has a lot of well connected famlies, and the school tracks and records all of the college experiences. Yes, it makes a difference, but not as much as one would think. Almost all of such kids who applied, and I could recognize who they were in many cases as I was active with the school and my son was extremely social, with connections and were accepted were not big surprises in getting accepted even though heavily tagged with parental clout </p>

<p>I know some very big time contributors to some major schools whose kids were not accepted. It’s not widely known, but Ivanka Trump was waitlisted and then denied at UPenn where her father, the Donald was an alum and she had a brother going there. She did not apply ED, so she did not get the legacy boost. She was accepted to Georgetown off the waitlist and went there and then transferred to UPenn. My close friend’s DH has contributed to his alma mater, an ivy for years, and despite what I consider a large contribution before their DD’s college, she was denied, something that stopped the flow of his contributions. In fact, I know a number of loyal alums who have stopped donating and largely scaled back on their activities with their alma maters after their kids were denied. That is one of the reasons that there is some edge to alumni preference. And, yes, development counts too. But not always. </p>

<p>Legacy, celebrity, connections, development are not the only ways some applicants get an extra nod. If any applicant has ANYTHING that a college particularly wants, that is given consideration. That includes things at times like gender, geographic locations, ethnic and racial diversity considerations, athletic prowess, an undersubscribed major, etc etc. </p>

<p>My friend’s son just got accepted to NYU with stats well in the lower 25%. No big money there in play. Had a great interview with the head of a dept that is undersubscribed,and a directed interest backed up with activities and research in that field, and so he was given a boost in admissions. My son’s test scores were very much in the lower 25% of most of the colleges to which he applied and he got into all of his schools but one. No bribes in the picture here, I assure you.</p>

8

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<p>You’re going to have this problem at any school selective enough to truly interest you – even the publics.</p>

9

<p>Honestly all the top schools just take money. I have friends with terrible grades at no ECs and are lazy bums who are going to Stanford cause their parents were important and rich. </p>

<p>That’s just life. It sucks, I know. But for the rest of us who aren’t so lucky to be rich and powerful, we gotta work for what we want. Duke '17, let’s go!</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t take it personally against Duke, considering every top school does it. I won’t name specifics, but I know someone who works at a top private school in LA and almost every student in the class goes to an ivy (of their choice) for this reason…My source tells me that the parents outwardly admit it too, declaring it their “contribution” to their child’s college process.</p>

11

<p>You might as well not apply to any highly selective private university.</p>

12

<p>OP: hate to break this to you, but it’s pretty much how the real world works too unfortunately. Probably better to not dwell on it and give it your best shot. At least at the end of the day, you can be satisfied knowing that you’ve worked for all that you have. [/platitudes]</p>