If Families of Legacies Contribute, Will Their Kid Get Accepted?

Parents Forum
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<p>I agree with weenie above. I've worked in university development, and it's standard procedure to suggest donating more each year - sometimes quite a bit more. One of my kid's schools recently suggested that we increase our annual gift by a factor of 10! We didn't, but we did donate more than we'd have given if we weren't asked about an increase. Same thing happens with our local symphony orchestra and NPR station.</p>

<p>I graduated from college 31 years ago - my mother STILL makes an annual donation!</p>

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<p>This I can sympathize with. D attends a college otherwise known as The Richest College In The Known Universe, but that hasn't stopped them from setting up a handy little device known as The Parents Fund. Intended for the parents of current students -- just in case there are any bank accounts out there that aren't yet completely emply after writing the tution checks.</p>

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<p>As I related in another thread, a friend told me about his long chat with a senior Harvard admissions staffer last spring, after his double-legacy, four-summa-degrees, five-figure-annual-contribution kid got rejected. The bottom line was that at Harvard, there is a theoretical boost for legacies, but not really. Legacies have a meaningfully higher admit rate than average, but the children of Yale and Princeton alumni do almost exactly as well -- it's more a question of smart, ambitious, achieving kids of smart, ambitious, achieving (and usually affluent) parents than loyalty to the average alumnus. Contributions really don't matter much unless they run to multiple millions, with more to come. That is the developmental category, and it's very small.</p>

<p>Another friend, a very successful woman who has given about $1 million cumulatively to her HYPS alma mater, told me that her Development Office contact assured her that her child would have "a good chance" if he was qualified, and that the admissions office would definitely know of her loyalty and take it into account as an important factor in the child's favor. But there was no question in her mind that she was NOT being told that her (only) child would be accepted if qualified, and she really didn't know how honest the description was. She'll see in April.</p>

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<p>The other reason to donate to one's alma mater is that it enhances the operation and, hence, the reputation of your alma mater. Both my alma mater's (undergrad and grad) have significantly increased in reputation since I attended, primarily due to various fund raising that they've done that has let them do all sorts of cool things.</p>

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<p>"Another friend, a very successful woman who has given about $1 million cumulatively to her HYPS alma mater..."</p>

<p>Small potatoes. It's simply a matter of dickering over price. But the folks who are likely to be paying the price are not likely lurking on these boards (or aren't talking....;))</p>

<p>If a college admissions officer didn't admit a student after the parent forked over the "right amount" to the institution's treasury, I'd fire him without a moment's thought.</p>

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<p>I consider it a privilege to be fortunate enough to donate to the schools I attended, not one of which needs the money I can afford to give. When son #2 was waitlisted Ed at one of these schools, a letter came one day to say he only had a 12% chance of RD admissions and within a week to ask for money. I gave the usual amount. A friend got the same 2 letters and made a whopping donation (I am sure). Both kids got in RD.</p>

<p>After the alumni solicitation from the other alma mater that year (where son was WL for the regular round). I wrote a note saying that while I would be thrilled to send $45,000 (or thereabouts), I was sending much less. I didn't feel any less fortunate, but I did feel less flush. The donations now to the other alma mater are lower, but honestly, 2 full tuitions at 2 private colleges per year aint cheap.</p>

<p>As to 'motivation' it is still the same. I want to feel I have paid back, I surely appreciate that someone 29 years ago made it possible for me...and maybe when the 8 more years are paid for I will be a bit more generous again.....</p>

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<p>I read somewhere that the schools sometimes distinguish between active and inactive alumni in legacy admissions, and favor the active ones' children. And I figure that if you don't want to organize committees or interview for the local alumni group, a contribution might make them consider you active.</p>

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<p>Agreed JHS. Getting on the development radar at Harvard et al probably requires a six figure gift year in and year out--plus the capacity to leave a multiple seven figure legacy. This is why Harvard alums freak out when it comes time for their little Johnnies to apply. The price of getting on that radar belongs to the Forbes 400 richest families--period. Anotehr reason not to go to Harvard ! :eek: (jk)</p>

<p>However, that still leaves 20 schools in the Top 25 that have what I guess is a five figure threshold. In my opinion--based on the admit rates that I've seen for alumni children who barely made the cutoff requirements--and sometimes didn't.</p>

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<p>^ You might be surprised who is on the radar at university development offices. They know a lot about a lot of people. They certainly profile their donors (guesstimating house value, income level, running asset searches, and they may even track something as petty as the types of cars you drive). Their goal is to try to figure out how big of an ask they can make. They don't want to aim too low (people get insulted) or to high (they walk). It would boggle your mind if you saw one of their databases. It's all part of keeping a college, or any other big not-for-profit, up and running.</p>

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<p>I don't think there's any question about universities' fundraising sophistication. I think what cheers meant was that it takes a lot of six-figure gifts to get on the "development" radar for admissions purposes.</p>

<p>The person I described above has made more than one six-figure gift to her college (she has had some really good years), and a lot of mid-five-figure ones. She gets plenty of love from the development office. But it's clear to her that her pretty darn high level of giving may not mean that much in the admissions process. If her applicant wasn't a strong candidate anyway, it would probably mean nothing at all.</p>

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<p>JHS:
I'm curious if the first person you described whose kid wasn't admitted after making 5 figure donations kept up that level of donation after the non-admittance.</p>

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<p>Since USNWR rankings depend in part on percentage of alumni donating (not just the amount donated), universities also have a stake in the small-but-steady donators. I discovered about five years ago that I was considered a "major donor" to MIT not because I'd donated a lot over the years, but because I had donated every year since I'd graduated (in 1975). The total put me in the top 25% of donors (it was a total of around $4000 at that point). </p>

<p>When my son got in, some of his friends teased him that it was only because he was a legacy. It seems unlikely to me, but the development office may care about consistency as well as $$.</p>

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<p>
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It seems unlikely to me, but the development office may care about consistency as well as $$.

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<p>Consistency counts, or so I'm told. Don't go dropping $2.500 your kid's junior year and expect much, but a consistent $500 will go a long way. Also, as mentioned, significant volunteer involvement in the school will also go a long way.</p>

<p>If your kid is on the bubble small consistent things will create a legacy tip at most schools. If not, well, then those $100k donations might come into play.</p>

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<p>JHS has it exactly. The family that I know that contributed (I'm guessing) 5 figure sums each and every year also has the potential to leave a multi-seven figure sum behind. If JHS's friend has that kind of legacy potential, I'd say her child will get at least a little boost.</p>

<p>weenie, you are preaching to the choir. I've seen the development databases for private secondary and primary schools and that would scare most people. Everyone in the admin of the schools has a working knowledge of the large donors or potential large donors--at any school. The sums just get larger--with Harvard being the largest, haha.</p>

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<p>TribecaMom: I agree that a consistent $500 is looked upon very favorably, but I think that a consistent $50 also works.</p>

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<p>Admissions Offices, as a rule, hate the Development Offices, so I don't think you are going to get as much of a boost as you might think. Adcoms have guidelines given for legacy admissions, and they tend to keep to them. Development is a whole different story. Many times when parents get "connected" friends, relatives or acquaintances to get involved in the process, they are not winning points with the adcoms who know the score pretty well. Most selective schools are not interested in kids who have so many advantages, and tend to look at achievements in light of advantages, so many times the advantages you give your kid are not going to be as helpful as you hope, and sometimes downright unhelpful.</p>