<p>This happens at almost any top institution in the United States of America. Some people are born into the "mold" or "family" that a University is looking for. It just makes it that much better when the people who worked tirelessly for four years get in and achieve success without connections, alumni, URM, etc.</p>
<p>Yeah, batman is right, everyone on here claims he will dropout because his academic performance will be poor. Unfortunately, if you take a major that's easy enough with classes easy enough, the kid with connections will probably get by for at least 2-3 years and screw over some deserving student.</p>
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Yeah, batman is right, everyone on here claims he will dropout because his academic performance will be poor. Unfortunately, if you take a major that's easy enough with classes easy enough, the kid with connections will probably get by for at least 2-3 years and screw over some deserving student.
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<p>Or, he'll make good connections again once in college. In this case, he can graduate with a 2.0 but still land a job with a salary that most people don't even think of making.</p>
<p>Grades matter very little. Connections, however, make a world of difference.</p>
<p>^ I had an audition with the Cal Band that got me a letter of rec to admissions. You're really that surprised that sports have this kind of power, when the band can do that?</p>
<p>I understand that he is lucky to have good connections; I'm just angry because it's difficult for me to accept that he "worked the system" to be admitted in a way that is unconventional and not the way everyone else has worked so hard for.</p>
<p>Yes, I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. But if I knew I could get into Berkeley, early, with a 3.4, I wouldn't have stressed so much about school all the time.</p>
<p>No problem about being jealous. I would be jealous too, but to post rude remarks (absolutely unqualified, not UCB material) is wrong. It is wrong because you don't know what is Berkeley material. The only thing you know is what people have told you.</p>
<p>The classy thing to do is to congratulate the guy and forget about it.</p>
<p>I have to say that athletes at Berkeley are "officially" admitted at the same time as everyone else and send in their SIR's at the same time as other students, even the highly recruited ones. Although some team managers can get a little bump in the admissions process, the case described here does not sound at all like my family's experience with Berkeley Athletics. I also know one team manager who had a 4.0 and no one was telling him he got in early, he found out the same time as the rest of the applicants.</p>
<p>Actually, some athletes sign national letters of intent as early as November and some in February. Although I don't think by signing a letter you're officially in, it is ultimately up to the admissions department. However, each team has a certain number of "tags" they can use to "tag" someone's application to make sure they'll get admitted. Obviously, you'll need to be UC eligible and that is pretty easy. Some high school teachers are pressured by administrators and coaches to inflate the grades of high school standouts so they'll have a chance to be NCAA eligible. Then if you're being actively recruited and is deadsure on going to Berkeley, they'll tag you, but you'll never know if you made it under the regular admissions process or needed the actual tag. If the tag goes unused, the coach can use the tag on someone else.</p>
<p>So my point is that athletes definitely know if they'll be in or not. The acceptance letter simply seals the deal.</p>
<p>^^. it doesnt matter what you major in, connections mean more than knowledge. just ask any person "would you hire a friend who can do the job, or a person who has the highest stats but you have never known in your whole life?"</p>
<p>My roommate told me a story sometime ago about a friend of hers who got accepted into Princeton but was rejected by Berkeley and UCLA. Apparently, this friend's dad was a Princeton alumnus and the friend was worried that she only got into Princeton because of legacy so she asked the admit people at Princeton about it. Naturally, they told her "Of course, not! Yada, yada, yada..." which comforted the friend. </p>
<p>Moral of the story? Connections get you places and money is powerful stuff. I'm kind of envious of this friend, but I like how my life worked out.</p>
<p>^ haha good story. But I mean for schools like Princeton and Harvard, legacy works wonders. I know this family and they have 5 kids (3 brothers and 2 sisters). The four older than me all went to Harvard because their parents went there.</p>
<p>lol One of my other friends also told me about two kids at her school who were definitely shoo ins for Stanford. One kid's family has a building named after them at Stanford and they were third or fourth generation Stanford alums, but the kid was dead set on going to UCSD. Stanford even called up his family to ask them if he wanted to check on the status of his application, and this kid isn't stupid either but his dream school had always been UCSD. The other kid was from a family of third or fourth generation Stanford alums, but his dream school was UCLA. I gotta say I really admire people like that.</p>