<p>for some one who donates $2Mil all at once to Harvard, it will make Boston Globe, or even National News. It will not be un-noticed. I think the story in itself has some faults, maybe made up. Not too many ppl has $2Mil in the pocket to give to a college, and if they do just for their s/d to go to Harvard is a pretty good story by itself.</p>
<p>No, it won’t make national news. That’s goofy. It is neither in Harvard’s nor the family’s best interest to make this public. </p>
<p>The one thing that doesn’t ring true to me is that the student told his friend (the OP). You’d think that a family sophisticated enough to have 2 H parents and the wherewithal to write a $2 mm check would also have told their son not to breathe a word about this outside the family.</p>
<p>No, donating $2 million would not make national news. Most people who donate that kind of money don’t want others to know. It would set them up for being endlessly solicited for donations, and it would set them up as targets for thieves and con artists.</p>
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Isn’t the CC score myth fueled by admissions statistics provided by colleges on their own websites?</p>
<p>No, the CC score myth is fueled by other people on CC. Any student who can crack 2000 on the SAT can probably survive academically at any Ivy or top institution. </p>
<p>What I see from the OP and others on this thread is a desperate search to prove that Ivy admissions are rational, and that they can guarantee themselves to get in or at least get a good shot at getting in by getting perfect grades and perfect test scores. Sad to tell you, that ain’t reality. Yes, you need excellent grades and test scores to make the minimum cutoff, but getting really-super-duper-excellent scores isn’t going to give you that much of a push once you get over the minimum cutoff (and the minimum cutoff is REALLY high).</p>
<p>HYPSM need a variety of students in order to provide their students with a rich experience and variety in their classmates. They need scholars, and scholar/athletes, and artists and musicians and newspaper writers and student-gov types. They need physics majors and Slavic Studies majors and pre-meds. They need men and women and minorities and kids from exotic places. AND they need kids from families who have a history and commitment to the university, and whose families are blessed with the ability to continue to make sizeable contributions to the university. Unless you are sitting in that admissions conference room, you will never know why Johnny with the 2200 SAT and 3.9 GPA got in, while Billy with the 2250 and the 3.95 GPA did not. It’s NOT all based on numbers. If you want a college where admissions is purely based on numbers, go to many of the large state flagships. At many huge universities, GPA + SAT = golden ticket, end of story.</p>
<p>Back to the original poster - why are you so obsessed with whether or not your friend gets into the HYPSM school? Do you buy into the myth that Ivies only take x number of kids from a single high school, and you’re afraid he’s gonna take your spot? </p>
<p>$2 million is a LOT of money. It’s a LOT of money from an individual private donor. 2100 is an excellent SAT score - it puts your friend in the top 3% of students who took the SAT. Legacy helps at many colleges - double legacy helps even more. I don’t know why you think this kid isn’t going to get into this college. Somehow it seems important to you to prove that he’s wrong in thinking he’s going to get in… frankly I’d be very surprised if he gets turned down.</p>
<p>Admissions to top colleges make a lot more sense if you stop looking at it from the student’s point of view (“I’ve earned it, I deserve to be admitted”) and start looking at it from the COLLEGE’s point of view - Which students will do the most to help us achieve our goals? Which students will best take advantage of the unique opportunities our college offers?</p>
<p>Kids do talk, it has nothing to do with sophistication. My daughter’s friend told her about his special treatment. A girl of D1’s year was invited to visit Yale with her whole family as a athletic recruit. They wined and dined the family. She fully expected to be accepte, but was rejected at the end.</p>
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</p>
<p>I know this isn’t necessarily a causal relationship, but the statistics posted by colleges do show a correlation.
[Testing</a> Statistics](<a href=“http://www.dartmouth.edu/admissions/facts/test-stats.html]Testing”>http://www.dartmouth.edu/admissions/facts/test-stats.html)
[Brown</a> Admission: Facts & Figures](<a href=“Undergraduate Admission | Brown University”>Undergraduate Admission | Brown University)
[Princeton</a> University | Admission Statistics](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/)
[MIT</a> Admissions: Admissions Statistics](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/admissions_statistics/index.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/admissions_statistics/index.shtml)</p>
<p>Also, I’m not debating whether a student with a certain score can handle the academics at any top institution, just the notion that improving one’s score doesn’t improve one’s chances.</p>
<p>The only thing that surprises me about the story is that the friend is bragging about his special treatment. Many wealthy donors’ kids hide the fact that their parents’ wealth boosted their acceptance chances. The students are embarrassed and don’t want others to assume they aren’t accomplished enough to gain entrance on their own. </p>
<p>The same is true of some legacies’ kids.</p>
<p>Kids talk. They tell each other who they are having sex with. If they are not embarrassed by that…</p>
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I assume you mean lower than most HYPSYM kids’ scores since 2100 is in the 97th percentile. Or is this CC math :)?</p>
<p>[op-- He has more money than you and legacy connections. Oh well. Such is life. There is always someone smarter, richer, better connected, prettier. Nothing you can do about it. ]</p>
<p>Telling a 17 year old this, and expecting the younger generation to seek for the best environment, in another word, the best university to study so he/she can learn how to become a leader, how to change the world ============> It is really sad !!!</p>
<p>I’ve mentioned in other threads that I have a friend who I trust who is an insider in admissions at a top university. According to her, 2 million is much more than enough to get a B+ student into Harvard.</p>
<p>“Telling a 17 year old this, and expecting the younger generation to seek for the best environment, in another word, the best university to study so he/she can learn how to become a leader, how to change the world ============> It is really sad !!!”</p>
<p>What’s sad about it? It’s reality. All universities happily will accept students whose parents are large donors. Such acceptances allow the schools to improve their facilities, provide scholarships to needy students, and attract excellent professors and researchers.</p>
<p>Schools like Harvard, though, will only accept such students if the students have the stats to survive academically there.</p>
<p>Harvard wouldn’t be Harvard without the money it gets from donations, including from people who donate so their kids will get accepted. </p>
<p>If a kid wants to go to a school that accepts students only based on their stats, s/he should apply to universities in countries where universities are completely publicly funded and admission is based only on test scores.</p>
<p>One of my H’s ex classmates donated $25K to UC some years ago. They treated him like royalty. He was invited to all kinds of events at the school, had folks from the college visit him and take him to dinner/lunch, keep him apprised of a lot of things happening at the school. He did not have a child of college age, but if he had, I’m sure that they would have extended special consideration for her. </p>
<p>As others have said, the young man’s stats are certainly in line for consideration from HPY. On top of that, he is a legacy. With that $2M donation, he would certainly be tagged as a development admit. </p>
<p>The family could have been invited to the school for any number of reasons, being in such a high level alumni development category. With the young man’s stats, the comment that he has a good chance of acceptance is not out of line.</p>
<p>Also bear in mind, that things reported often leave out the nuances and context and are not verbatim quotes. I’ve known a number of folks that have hung on words of encouragement from the adcoms to APPLY to the school, as an assurance of acceptance.</p>
<p>Why are you so worried about this any ways? Yes, development applicants get special consideration. Yes, legacies get special consideration. Nothing new there. If you get worked up about every encouraging quote your peers get and report to you from admissions offices, you are going to be majorly stressed.</p>
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<p>Harvard is taking the long view in all this, just as many of the private universities do. Will the parents keep donating? I’ll bet they do. Also, in many cases, the kid will have access to serious money in time (often the uber-rich have a family empire) and will most likely pledge $1+ million at 5 year intervals in connection with his class reunion.</p>
<p>NSM, I have been shocked at the number of kids and parents bragging about their connection to colleges and admissions offices. I would think they would keep such info close to their chest, but they do not. Makes no sense as it only gets others jealous and resentful, makes you look like a fool if you don’t get accepted, and makes it look like it was not the academic profile that had anything to do with it if the kid is accepted. Note how the OP is more obsessed and incensed about the comment made by the adcom that was quoted, how accurately who can tell, and not looking at the whole picture of that applicant.</p>
<p>Also I’ve found that those folks who make such brags also blame any non accepts to the fact that other not as qualified kids with special attributes such as race, 1st gen, poverty, challenges, sports (even if it is not NCAA level), geographics have taken their kids’ places.</p>
<p>OP: If it makes you feel better, assume that your friend is lying and get along with your life. If he is a braggart, it will catch him sooner or later.</p>
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<p>I don’t have a problem with Harvard (or anyone else) opening the door just a little wider for the kid of the $2MM-family who is presumably reasonably able to handle the academics. All over this country, schools open their doors a lot wider for kids who can’t handle the academics based solely on their ability to kick, hit or throw a ball. The kicking, hitting, throwing of the ball benefits no one other than sports spectators. (Yeah, yeah, I know, revenue from tickets and TV, but it takes a lot of infrastructure to get to that revenue.) This $2MM check goes straight to the bottom line without having to have a big infrastructure behind it to get a return on it. </p>
<p>If it’s so upsetting to the OP that Harvard might tip the scales for a major donor, then don’t apply to Harvard if its policies bug you so much – problem solved!</p>
<p>How does it actually work though? You don’t want to hand over $2m and then the student is rejected. Do you straight up promise $2m if admitted, and if the deposit check is not $2,000,500, the kid is rescinded?</p>
<p>Or will they really say, we have looked at the file, the kid is marginal, but if you give us a check for $2m right now, they are in?</p>
<p>I mean, there must be some conventions and manners that go along with what is essentially bribery.</p>