<p>"So you actually know of cases where a large donor actually consummated a large donation with the intention of getting their child admitted and their child wasn't admitted and the donor lost the money?"</p>
<p>I do know of such a case at an Ivy (can't be more specific for confidentiality purposes) where a good friend is a fund raiser. He told me that the child of a donor of a well known building (named for the donor) was rejected several years ago (again, pardon my being less specific for confidentiality reasons).</p>
<p>Donate the money to me and I'll do my best to influence the admission committee. :) </p>
<p>Slightly more seriously, I read in a book once (I wish I could remember the name of the book, to cite it properly) that a man insinuated that he had an "in" with the admission committee at Brown. He would say to parents, "I can't guarantee every case, but for my standard fee of $3,000 I'll do my best to tip your child's case with the committee, and if your child doesn't get in, you'll get all of your money back." Then the man proceeded to do NOTHING. (He actually didn't know anyone on the Brown admission committee.) Some applicants got in to Brown, and he kept their money. Other applicants did not get in, and he returned their money. That's a pretty good rate of pay for minimal work.</p>
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I really think that the university would just tell their employees to come clean and they will try to justify what they do just like you do.
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Perhaps this would be the case. I doubt it, but you never know. In either case, I highly doubt that the IRS would be able to prove its case. Without a contract or any negotiation records, Princeton employees would not have a lot to offer the IRS in the way of evidence. Princeton could also easily compile a list of major donors whose children were rejected. The list wouldn't be incredibly lengthy, but certainly long enough to cast doubt on the IRS's case. </p>
<p>You do make a number of good points. First, donating $2 million won't move tothemax's son to the top of the list (or anywhere near it, to be quite frank). Second, it does help to be an alumnus and have a history of making large donations. Princeton's goal is to appease someone they know will donate for the long haul. It's about much more than a one time payment. This further clouds the quid pro quo issue.</p>
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It's about much more than a one time payment. This further clouds the quid pro quo issue.
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<p>Exactly. IMO, if the donation and the admission are "linked" as the OP intends, than it's a quid pro quo. If I'm Princeton, sitting on a $14.8B endowment, I don't touch this guy with a ten foot pole and risk the scenario I've outlined for a mere $2M. </p>
<p>Maybe his best approach would be to donate $10M to a range of organizations and get in the development database as a known "heavy hitter".</p>
<p>Let's say 35% tax rate, $2M false deduction, that's about $700K in federal tax evasion. </p>
<p>Ever hear of Pete Rose a.k.a. Charlie Hustle. One of the best baseball players in history.</p>
<p>From Wiki</p>
<p>"On April 22, 1990, Rose pleaded guilty to two charges of filing false income tax returns not showing income he received from selling autographs, memorabilia, and from horse racing winnings. On July 20, Rose was sentenced to five months in the medium security Prison Camp at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois and fined $50,000. He was released on January 7, 1991 after having paid $366,041 in back taxes and interest."</p>
<p>And that was a plea bargain and he only evaded $300K. Also, notice it was medium security prison, not the kind of country club where Jeffery Skilling, the former Enron CEO was sent.</p>
<p>With good grades/ec's he should definately be in at a top 50 school regardless...why don't you just invest the 2 million for him. Or try england...I've heard even paying full tuition gives foreign applicants a big boost.</p>
<p>Edit: An overwhelmed student at a hard school does not perform well...I know many people who got into top 30 colleges without a gift and still couldn't cut it.</p>
<p>Do you know what 500k can do if invested? plus 500k is not enough to be truthful. princeton has about 16 billion. you are offering them chump change.</p>
<p>in addition you are an utter failure and a sad excuse for a parent. some people should never be allowed to procreate.</p>
<p>collegehopeful, I think that was a little harsh. Whether or not the OP is a troll, which is debatable, a large donation does a lot of good for Princeton. Admitting one decently-qualified student under the conditions that several million dollars are donated could go into financial aid, travel abroad, etc. Big donors, although their progeny often get unfair advantages, are a key part of Princeton.</p>
<p>I think I agree with Procrastination. People who are as rich as the OP makes himself out to be know the system well enough to go without consulting high schoolers.</p>
<p>I don't agree that everyone who is sufficiently rich knows how to leverage his wealth to gain admission for a child. The knowledge it takes to make money is different from the knowledge it takes to reverse-engineer the admission process.</p>
<p>Since the OP is self made, he obviously does not belong to the same social caste (i.e. Social Register types) as the people who normally go this route. He likely doesn't associate very much with people who know the system, so it's not altogether surprising that he needed to ask his question on CC.</p>
<p>Whether or not op is a troll, he still inspires some interesting discussions!</p>
<p>For those of you who are "disgusted" w/ the op, you shouldn't be. The top schools have been doing all they can to get more and more money for centuries. How do you think they got to that $14bil endowment anyways?</p>
<p>But, what I find most interesting is that these heavy hitters who buy their way into these schools might end up doing more good than bad. Their donations allow these schools to fund their generous fin aid, as well as many other programs. In fact, it's the well-endowed programs that make all of you guys WANT to go to Princeton in the first place!</p>
<p>... So... if they didn't allow these things to happen, you probably wouldn't want to go here anyways!</p>
<p>"For those of you who are "disgusted" w/ the op, you shouldn't be. The top schools have been doing all they can to get more and more money for centuries. How do you think they got to that $14bil endowment anyways?"</p>
<p>that's a stupid argument. simply because an action is popular does not make it any less disgusting. </p>
<p>by the same logic, i could say, "those of you who are 'disgusted' with the holocaust shouldn't be. People have been trying to exterminate minority groups for centuries."</p>
that's a stupid argument. simply because an action is popular does not make it any less disgusting.
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<p>That was inane. The reason buying a small number of kids their way in is not disgusting is because it is the mechanism by which a ton of other kids are supported through financial aid, the way new programs are created, new buildings built, better professors hired... need I go on?</p>
<p>You call it disgusting that a top school with such resources sells a certain number of places. I call it pragmatism. Why not sell 10 places in a class of 1100 to give the other 1090 a far, far richer experience? I can firmly say that the only ones who would object are the people reacting out of a) jealousy of the ability to get in or b) worried that they are one of the 10 displaced. Get over it.</p>
<p>While I know this happens, I do not think this is fair. For the OP, I doubt they would only take 500k. You'd be looking at around a million or so. Hope they reject it.</p>
<p>Does anybody really think George W. Bush earned his way into Harvard and Yale? He didn't even want to go there. </p>
<p>Does anybody really think Harvard has a $35 billion endowment because it's "a really good school"? </p>
<p>Of course not. It is a status symbol for the ruling class. Anyone can tell you its undergraduate programs are above average at best and I, for one, have always looked upon a Harvard diploma above all others with skepticism - you might be smart, you might not. </p>
<p>I'm not sure how much intelligence it took this individual to make his money, but anyone with common sense would see that he is stripping his son of the ability to have the pride he takes in being "self-made". </p>
<p>I grew up surrounded by kids like this. It's a very sad subculture that churns out mediocre adults well placed to make signiicantly more money and continue the cycle. Chance that.</p>