<p>So, I was just wondering if anyone here could provide any insight on the weight having connections carries at universities, mainly in the Ivy League. While I unfortunately do not have any Ivy League alumni in my family, my grandfather is very close friends with the president of Brown and has known her for about 20 years, and he is also very good friends with the president of the University of Oklahoma, who happens to be a Yale graduate. </p>
<p>Does this kind of connection help when applying to these colleges? I'm not trying to "show off" my connections or anything, I just genuinely want to know how helpful these connections are, and, if they ARE helpful, how to utilize them properly. I'm applying to both Brown and Yale regardless of connections or not, but I just was curious about this. Thanks!!</p>
<p>It’s a tricky one. Most admissions books will tell you not to use these connections, because it can come off as “desperate” and that you don’t have enough confidence in yourself/application that you think you have to pull some strings. We wrestled with this one ourselves, with Vassar though and chose not to use our contact. Son’s app. was fantastic, supplements, and the interview went very well, yet he didn’t get into Vassar. I will be interested to see whether anyone tells you to use the contacts and whether it paid off for them. I still think we made the right decision not to use our contact at Vassar, because he’s happier with where he’ll be heading in the fall. I don’t have the right answer for you, it’s up to you. Some will say it doesn’t hurt to use everything you have these days, and others will wonder whether its selling yourself short.</p>
<p>I found out 25+ years after the fact that my father had pulled strings to get me into a college I probably would not have gotten into otherwise. It turned out not to be in my best interests. YMMV.</p>
<p>If these friends volunteer to see what they can do without ever being asked by your grandfather it would likely help; obviously they are in a position to know what influence they have. </p>
<p>On the other hand if grandpa has to drop hints or ask directly they’ll probably be accomodating to preserve the friendship but it is unlikely they’ll actually try to pull any strings even though they’ll send a letter or make a call or whatever; it may just mean that your rejection letter gets signed by the head of admissions instead of a generic “we’re sorry” letter.</p>
<p>The presidents of Yale and Oklahoma as well as the deans and other senior administrators have lots of friends; if these people were always pulling strings to get the children and granchildren of their buddies in there wouldn’t be many spaces left for regular applicants! So bottom line, sure there are people who have influence, but I would bet against it being used in your case. Unless you’re the only grandchild and grandpop has been discussing a substantial bequest with his pals…</p>
<p>It was a very long time ago. Most of my classmates were prepared to work at a much more challenging level than I was. Had I been more focused and mature, I could have succeeded (and did hold my own for two semesters), but that was not the case. Eight years later, after a spell in the military, I went back to (a different) college and finished my last 66 hours with a 4.0 average.</p>
<p>Lafayette College. But don’t make any assumptions about the Lafayette College of today. This was in 1964, and the college has changed a LOT since then. When I went, it was all-male and known for its frat parties and percentage of self-described “Ivy League rejects,” of which I was not one. The last two characteristics may still be true, though I would have no way of knowing, since the last time I set foot on the campus was in 1966.</p>
<p>In 1966, having just lost my student deferment, I really didn’t have much choice. When it became obvious that I was not going to be allowed to return for my junior year, I beat feet down to the Navy recruiting office and got the last spot available in the recruiting region for the period; I did not want to get drafted into the Army.</p>
<p>It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me; I stayed for 10 years and got a lot more out of my service than I ever had a chance to contribute.</p>
<p>see, i don’t want to give off the impression that i’m a slimy, snotty brat just trying to use my connections to get what i want. the president of brown knows that i’m interested in going to brown, but my grandfather has held off really pushing the issue to try to avoid pestering her, although i plan on visiting brown this fall (this upcoming year will be my junior year) and having the chance to speak with her personally. as for the president of the university of oklahoma, my grandfather hasn’t really talked to him about my interest in yale, so this is more of the issue. i’m not quite sure how to handle the whole yale thing, since this connection obviously isn’t as direct as the one i have with brown. any advice about this would be great. thanks again</p>