@Happy4u I read this really interesting article yesterday. Back when our generation was applying to schools, it you were wealthy and connected, you got into an Ivy if you were “smart” and always had backups like NESCAC schools. (I am not disparaging any schools…this was in the article.) For the current generation of wealthy, connected kids this is no longer true. And the change in the game is causing some parents to do crazy, unethical (and sometimes illegal) things. The vast majority of the parents get that the admissions game has changed and do the right things…but some do not.
I agree that this kid may have got in on his own merits. But this fear of NOT being in the RIGHT school just drives some parents insane. The current state cannot continue; it must and will change. I just don’t know what it will look like for the next (20+ years from now) generation.