<p>Okay, im hoping for some insight on this. If you got a recommendation, or rather someone who gives around 20 million dollars a year to Harvard and has their whole life worth being given to Harvard, if that person makes a call saying they want you to be admitted when you apply, how does this affect your shot if you are otherwise a lower end candidate
what are the influence of these type of people</p>
<p>umm, if you're being serious, and if this guy really wants you in harvard, you are in. All he has to do is tell them he's cutting them off, and they'll come back to him crying like babies without their milk.</p>
<p>this was a serious question, but hes not gonna call to say ' if u dont do this im not giving you money' thats far fetched, i was just wondering if he put a call in to admissions, what his influence would be, since he is such a great contributor to the school</p>
<p>Just have him give you the 20 million and call it even.</p>
<p>It'll probably help. It can't hurt :)</p>
<p>Obviously it can't hurt. But how much (if at all) it will help depends on a number of factors. How well does big-shot recommender (BSR) know you - as opposed to knowing your parents, relatives, etc? Will BSR's recommendation be able to set forth a compelling argument for why you are an attractive candidate despite your "lower end" stats? Or will it be more along the lines of "masterflor's father/mother is a business friend/acquaintance and asked me to recommend masterflor for admission so I am hereby doing so"? And in any event, while a high quality recommendation from BSR could be a tipping factor, if you're really not qualified they're not going to admit you no matter what the recommendation says.</p>
<p>when i say lower end, i basically mean my chances to get in are probably average for an early applicant, but compared to most on this board less than that. now, supposedly as its been told to me, the power is within this guys hands, he runs one of the top fortune 500 companies, has a billion dollars goin to Harvard in his passing, and basically if he calls and says he wants something, they would give it to him, however i wasnt convinced as if it would run that smoothly b/c hes a business friend/acquantance who doesnt kno me well</p>
<p>Assuming you're serious, you know the facts of the situation better than anyone on this board, so I'm not sure what you're looking for in the way of advice. If BSR is Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer (about the only two people in the world who fit your description), AND he really wants to push hard for your admission, AND you're qualified, I'd say your chances are pretty good.</p>
<p>If he is giving $20 milllion and makes it plain the he wants you admitted, you will be admitted. Stats won't matter one bit.</p>
<p>wow how the heck did you get to know this benefactor? If he really asks u to go in, ur in. no doubt. HYPS digs money</p>
<p>no hes not Bill Gates haha, i dont know how i got to kno him, luck i guess, cuz i am in no way myself connected financially or anything. well thanks for the responses yall , basically what i was asking was what bandit said</p>
<p>Bandit happens not to be correct, but I'm glad you got the answer you wanted to hear. Best of luck.</p>
<p>20 mil will buy admission to any college in the country. Staying is a different matter.</p>
<p>cosar, you innocent...
bandit is entirely right. and I don't say this to denigrate Harvard. It would be the same for all colleges in the world. Money makes the world go round...</p>
<p>Neither innocent nor ill-informed. </p>
<p>Harvard is one of the few institutions around (Yale is another) that would turn down (and has turned down) a contribution of this magnitude when it comes with unacceptable strings attached. That said, I have no doubt that they would stretch pretty hard to find a candidate "qualified" if the contribution were conditioned on the candidate's admission. But those are not the facts presented here. BSR will not cease to make contributions if Harvard decides masterflor is not qualified for admission.</p>
<p>makes you wonder how Bush (and Kerry) got into Yale...</p>
<p>It was a different era.</p>
<p>power > money.</p>
<p>yes, but money=power</p>
<p>If the adcom is aware that the recommender plans to leave a billion dollars to Harvard upon his death, you are in.</p>