<p>I've only heard of these stories through unreliable sources and rumors. Over the course of the last week however, two people I know were deferred from two schools (Georgetown) and (Cornell) but were then accepted. The Georgetown student was not deferred but was just accepted with stats about 1900s SATS GPA of 3.3 at an elite private high school (one of the top 10 ranked in the country).Their very wealthy parents apparently gave large "gifts" to the schools and then they were accepted. I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge of how this bribing works. Why is this allowed? How do the colleges think this is fair? How much money do they donate for this to happen? How do they contact the schools letting them know they would like to donate? Do most of them contact them before their child applies? How do they get away with this? Etc... Thank you</p>
<p><em>cough cough</em> Harvard…</p>
<p>The technical term here is not “bribery” but “Developmental Admits.” And they “get away with it” because they are private schools that can admit people on pretty much any basis they choose. It’s not illegal. In fact most private college admissions offices have a person or office staff assigned specifically to handle developmental admits. </p>
<p>Here, for example, is Duke defending the use of developmental admits (I’m not picking on Duke; they pretty much all do it.):</p>
<p>[Brodhead</a> Discusses Early Admissions, Developmental Admits](<a href=“http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/09/admit.html]Brodhead”>http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/09/admit.html):</p>
<p>Excerpts:</p>
<p>Brodhead defended the early use of developmental admits in helping Duke build the resources to achieve the “outrageous ambitions” that Sanford set. Its current use is more restricted, but has not been eliminated.</p>
<p>“It would be na</p>
<p>Duke was notable for admitting the Lauren children (Ralph Lauren’s children) in exchange for a considerable sum of money. Of course, that’s not to say that other elite universities haven’t done the same.</p>
<p>The “bribery” is part of the advantage of legacy. Colleges hope that by admitting an alum’s child, the alum will feel compelled to donate money.</p>
<p>Yeah, but you know something? Money talks over legacy. If I somehow signal to a school that I’ll donate 6 or 7 figures multiple times over the next X years if my kid goes there, they wouldn’t care less if I myself went there. </p>
<p>Besides, when you apply, if you are a legacy kid, they already know how much your parents have contributed over time and if they are likely to be heavy hitters. If the legacy parent has contributed at modest levels over the years (say a few hundred here and there in response to drives), they’re not really expecting that legacy parent to all of a sudden come up with a million dollars if the kid gets let in. If they felt the parent was a potential heavy-hitter donor, they’d hit up that parent regardless of whether there was a college age kid waiting in the wings.</p>
<p>how much money does this usually take? and do they use a 3rd party to contact the school/ how do they let them know they’re going to donate</p>