Does it help if you know someone that donated $$ to that college call the admissions office???
<p>A person whose admission is helped because of $ is called a development case. They are handled by the development office who contacts the admissions office in the same way that the athletic office might try to intervene on the part of an applicant who they want to have on the team. The minimum amount that someone would have to donate is about $10 million. People who have donated that much money know who to call at the college.</p>
<p>You should never have anyone who doesn't know you extremely well write an extra recommendation for you or try to influence the adcom on your behalf. If your parent's boss is an alumni and they want to try to help out, no. If your grandmother says that she knows somebody who used to go to Harvard and they can get you in, no.</p>