<p>Recently we were disappointed to find out that Auburn University admits some students not on the basis of their academic or personal accomplishments. Apparently if the students parents went to Auburn and makes a “donation” this student will be accepted ahead of students with higher ACT scores and higher GPA. One student recently accepted has an ACT of 19 and had a DUI! We have taken Auburn off our list of potential colleges for our sons. Auburn presents a very selective impression but in truth is not as respectable as we once believed.</p>
<p>i know several wealthy (not us) people who went to auburn and also their kids. this has not been the case at all with them or any who they know. and my husband and i went to college up north and live in ga now. son received presidential scholarship and treated fantastic, all based upon his personal accomplishments. loves auburn and we didn’t know anything about it in our early college search. i couldn’t be more thrilled with auburn!</p>
<p>This happens to one degree or another at every university in the nation. Sometimes overtly sometimes not. Preferences…which means you have something that will gain admission with a lower score…are given for any number of reasons. In-state students, legacy, racial/ethnic, first generation, req athlete, gender…yes, full pay students. Students of university employees are given preference. If your family is going to donate enough money to build a library, then you probably have a good chance at being admitted.</p>
<p>No matter how reprehensible you may find this, do not lose site of the fact that anything that brings revenue to the school, be it a developmental admit, or a recruited athlete, makes much needed funds available for merit and financial aid to other students. Auburn is thriving in a climate where a vast number of universities are cutting back.</p>
<p>Certainly send your student, and tuition, to another university that you feel more represents your values. Do not be fooled that this is not happening in certain forms anywhere else you will go and that it fuels vital programs.</p>
<p>truthteller5: My daughter, who is at Auburn based on her academic accomplishments, loves it and is getting a great education. I agree with blueiguana that your issue is common throughout American universities. I guess to properly protest you can send your child to a community college. I don’t think they are prone to this type of favoring.</p>
<p>To clarify, I would venture to guess that Auburn is thriving financially in large part due to the fact that it’s arguably the current number one SEC powerhouse, generating untold profit for the university…not because of any donation from alumni.</p>
<p>War Eagle!!</p>
<p>I taught at one of the colleges listed in the “CC Top Universities” for years and after mommy and daddy bought your way in, you would have been labeled a “full pay” and basically untouchable. It’s been like this forever - it’s probably worse now with colleges grubbing for money like they do. I had a fellow professor who was banished from all contact with a full pay student because the parents didn’t like the grade their daughter received. It was general knowledge who the full pays were and you didn’t grade below B’s or you’d hear about it.</p>
<p>I smell a ■■■■■.</p>
<p>Ehh Auburn’s not even that good of a college anyways</p>
<p>On what do you base that opinion? Have you attended Auburn?</p>
<p>Seriously, if you are surprised that colleges and universities show preference to students of alumni (especially those with money) then you will continue to have a hard life. Even prestigious schools like Harvard fit this mold.</p>
<p>I’m sure the faculty is great, but their academic standards are pretty low…</p>
<p>If they have a great faculty, as you say, and I know they have great facilities, then it looks like anyone who is motivated will get a great education. The campus is beautiful, the buildings are well-maintained with lots of new construction around, services are top-notch. They provide generous scholarships and produce award-winning students (and not just in athletics.) Every student cannot score 2400 on the SAT, but that does not mean everyone cannot be successful with the right support asnd opportunity. My dad went to Auburn, was an average student, and created a company that employees 1500 people with sales all over the world. My mom also went to Auburn and is a financial consultant. There are probably graduates of Ivy League schools that have been much less successful. Auburn will give you a great start.</p>
<p>scales1994: Read this: Grade Inflation: Colleges With the Easiest and Hardest Grades</p>
<p><a href=“MoneyWatch: Financial news, world finance and market news, your money, product recalls updated daily - CBS News”>MoneyWatch: Financial news, world finance and market news, your money, product recalls updated daily - CBS News;
<p>Guys, I know Auburn is a great school, but most of the students they accept… well to be honest… arent. I’m sure people can do great things with an Auburn education, but its saddening me that most people who go to said school completely waste their education…</p>
<p>scales1994: I know of many weak students who have been accepted to Universities with more prestige. Public schools as a whole have very diverse student bodies regarding ability, but to make such a vague comment that most of the students they accept are not real strong is a very broad statement and unless you have statistics to back it up shouldn’t be claimed. Trust me, my daughter, who was accepted to all of the schools she applied to, is not wasting her education and she would never be considered a poor student in any sense of the word.</p>
<p>Are you a sore Alabama fan?? Never mind, I looked at your profile. You are a young kid.</p>
<p>proud-mom ^^^^ hahahaha ditto, ditto, ditto with my son! i mean the generalities are so ridiculous that it makes me giggle. if they only knew…</p>
<p>Auburn’s a fine university and good students can certainly do well there. But I think the earlier references to quality were related to the fact that the 25th percentile admitted student stats at Auburn are around the average stats for HS grads. That means that about one in four Auburn students got in with stats at or below the national averages for some reason, whether athletic, performing arts talent, legacy or some other preferential category. To extend that to a few additional students based upon their families’ support of Auburn may not feel quite right, but its practical impact isn’t all that great.</p>
<p>FWIW, the children of Medal of Honor recipients get automatic appointments to West Point and Annapolis, regardless of personal merit.</p>