Why did this family need a consultant of this type?
Honestly didn’t know Dartmouth was that sought after. I know one kid who wanted to go to Brown, got denied and unhappily went to Dartmouth but is happy and doing very well. Makes me question whether we really can know which College is the best fit for us.
If you can buy admission with a bribe, it kind of devalues the school for me.
Sheds light on the true unethical practices of college admissions and funding.
By all accounts, every highly selective/Ivy colleges accept donations of this amount or higher ( the higher an amount, the better chance I guess). They just have not made headlines like this one.
This headline feeds into a stereotype about how highly Asian parents value Ivies/highly selective collees. In fact, every year, there are many US millionaires who have done the same for their kids with their “donations”
Can you provide evidence of this?
I don’t think there are significant percentages who pad exceptance with $$ but what private institution anywhere would say no thanks to a hefty donation and a kid who can get an Ivy League C given the common belief that it is harder to get in than to graduate. I think people should be more concerned about egalitarianism with public institutions rather than private. I find the outrage alittle amusing. People spend money on lots of things that are eyeball rolling when they have more money than they need and have an ego that needs to be fed.
Maybe not for the direct benefit of their kids when they donate, but many certainly do it to pave the way for when their kids should apply some day. That’s why top tier schools have such high endowment. I am telling my kids to give time and money to their alma maters (private high school and college). I know my kid’s college value alumni participation, on top of donations.
Development admits are nothing new. That has always been a “hook” in college admissions, though I always thought it was for donations more significant than $500,000. A child of a large donor does have a hook.
What is different (in my view) in this case, is first, the fee that the college consultant charged (whether or not it included the donation) AND that the consultant was involved in making the connection with the college in terms of the donation during the admissions process.
Also, I thought development admits were mostly those who had been huge donors prior to the time of the admissions cycle, and not during it.
Within the last decade, the fee for binding ED admission to one Ivy League was $10,000 plus summer tuition for a rising high school senior. Was structured a slight bit differently, but same result.
$500,000 for one of the four lower Ivies is a substantial sum.
If plaintiff wins the lawsuit, I wonder if they can attach any future Dartmouth College diploma (preventing its awarding & preventing any records release from the school for this student) ?
Stories of elite college admittance based on wealth/connections used to be acceptable to most people. One could rationalize why it was okay.
However, I think we’re experiencing a large shift away from the status quo as seen in both the Times Up and Black Lives Matter movements. I think stories like this one will catalyze the masses to increasingly question the people in positions of power. Did ‘they’ get to where they are based on lies, cheating, inappropriate behavior or even systemic biases? When times are good and the ‘spotlight’ is focused elsewhere, people don’t care. When times are lean or people get fed up, it becomes a movement.
It’s a stressful time. Lies are undermining the institutions we, as a society, have relied on for preserving our American ideals.
@88jm19: Practices & human nature have not changed. Same as always. What has changed are the methods of communication & the quantity of information now available 24/7.
I can see it now: “Chance me with this donation amount.”
With four year private college cost at $300k nowadays I doubt $500k for a guaranteed spot at an Ivy is a “substantial sum” anymore. I imagine more than $1m out of the $1.5m would go to “donation”. If the family paid only $750k so far I can understand why someone would feel holding the bag.
@jym626, re developmental admits who are the children of wealthy white parents: Jared Kushner.
Right @oldmom4896. That’s one. And way back when, IIRC, John Kennedy jr? The concept of development admits is not new. But the poster said “every year there are many millionaires” who do this.” Evidence for that claim was requested.
^This is college CONFIDENTIAL, do you think if people know the donors they would provide the names and evidence?
Trump
I don’t believe any of the $1.5 million went to a school as a “donation.” Where are people getting that fact? That company has said many times that they never contact admissions. I think the whole $1.5 million goes right into their pocket. And they also write, often, that they don’t apologize for their high price.
^The fact is admission consulting, no matter how expensive, does not exceed $200k.