<p>If someone had a friend that worked in admissions at a top tier university (lets say harvard for example) who was going to help him/her polish his/her application (aka give special advice and information that the friend would only know/have from having worked in that specific school's admissions), would that significantly boost that applicant's chances of getting into the school? A lot of the applicants that apply to HYPS are equally qualified and it comes down to getting lucky as far as whether or not the admissions board likes the way you presented your information, and I think having help like that would take the chance aspect out and allow the applicant to show him/herself in the best possible light.</p>
<p>Maybe ,but you know the expression about making a silk purse from a sow’s ear . The luck you need is having the reader connect with your child’s essay . Assuming all essays in a given group were equal ,the luck comes in having the reader identify with the topic Example : the cello is the greatest instrument to play is the topic ,and your reader played the cello in their college years . No way you can predict this ! I know this because when my D was accepted to Harvard she called the Admissions office ,and the person who read her essay answered the phone and remembered her essay ! Not about the cello ,by the way . You might get some useful information , but you still have to be Harvard worthy .</p>