<p>^ I think hmom5 is right when it comes to domestic applicants. I go to a boarding school with a lot of international students and yes, they do use connections like you describe (for example, my friend from Hong Kong sent his resume, an unofficial transcript, and test scores to USC in September, to get a kind of early evaluation).</p>
<p>I’ve never seen this happen with domestic applicants (unless they have some crazy connections like a kid whose mom was admissions dean at Cal).</p>