Views on HUGE donations for top tier colleges?

<p>This year, in my school itself, i know 2 people who got into Stanford and Yale respectively by giving donations of 6crand 11cr respectively. So obviously, these people are ridiculously rich. My basic question is, do you mind the fact that people like this exist? One of them literally got in because his dad OWNS Jindal Steel, so for his own respect, he ensured his son got into Yale. The kid didn't deserve it. But are you guys bothered by this? I am, a little bit, if i'm to be honest. But then i realise that these donations can be used to give financial aid to children who truly do deserve admission. I really can't decide. So i thought i would just post it here to see others views. </p>

<p>I believe that there should be a limit on the no. of students admitted on the basis of the donations given by parents.</p>

<p>But yes, if the school is reinvesting this money by helping other needy INTERNATIONAL students financially, it is GREAT.
(As schools often depend on endowments/own funds for helping international students due to unavailability of federal aid) </p>

<p>if there is something all colleges like it’s money and reputation
well since we all can’t give $500k- $2 mil to colleges the least we can do is
get good SAT scores and not ask for financial aid</p>

<p>then again the super swank could all use a tax write off if you know what I’m saying </p>

<p>Under diversity, one can argue that other students will benefit from having (a limited # of) billion dollar heirs and heiress. Isha Ambani attends Yale (no input whether she deserves or not, maybe she does). </p>

<p>Obviously we should not care who else gets admitted and why.</p>

<p>However to get into the IITs, no amount of cash or muscle or political clout or iit-professor-dad/mom will help.</p>

<p>Of course getting in is just one part of the story. </p>

<p>Oh! I hate these kids,
Do you guys (@hezekiel, @DjangoIRL‌) honestly believe that they give out the received donations as financial aid??? How many poor people you know who attend an ivy league school?
A research showed that the amount of poor kids attending colleges at an ivy is much much less than that attending other schools. If anything, that can only mean two things

  • they’re rejecting poor kids, OR
  • the poor kids typically are not qualified enough to attend an ivy
    Choose your pick</p>

<p>I like to believe that the former is true because I’ve my own reasons to believe that the latter in untrue.
Those rich kids don’t deserve anything (No, I won’t give them the benefit of doubt). I personally know lots of kids who are too good for an ivy but not attending, and on the other hand, I also know rich snobs who only utter crap when they open their mouths attending. </p>

<p>I firmly believe it is the latter.
Getting into Ivy League is the real deal. Once you get in, you are assured of their financial support ( if you are poor).</p>

<p>Rich people do have a slight advantage in the college admissions process ( including Ivy League). They always have an access to better facilities, more clubs, professional counselors who manage their apps, better internships,etc. . </p>

<p>I’ll talk to you when you score a decent scholarship to an ivy, also know that not all ivies are need blind (just 4 of them), UPenn and Columbia shamelessly advertise that applying for aid WILL decrease your chances, sometimes even the poor people don’t apply for aid and take out huge loans.
Getting in in not the “real deal” as you WON’T get in if you NEED AID. End of Story</p>

<p>Do have a look at Common Data Set of the need-aware Ivies too.
UPenn has around 340 international undergraduates enrolled who receive aid.</p>

<p>If the college thinks you are great, and a perfect fit for their college, they will try their level best to ensure that you enroll there , which includes providing financial aid ( if required) </p>

<p>Then again, I’m not talking about rich people, or anything related to financial aid.I’m strictly talking about kids who get in because of huge donations (and yes, mostly they are used to either provide aid, or better the university’s infrastructure). And there really aren’t those many kids who get in because of this. Maybe 10 out of 2500 max. Also, you can’t forget that the lucky people who don’t require financial aid do not also actually deserve the advantage. They are just lucky. I can vouch for that, as I’ve seen kids who would normally get into the best colleges being set back because they required huge amounts of aid. </p>

<p>@hezekiel‌ Are you that naive?
“If the college thinks you are great, and a perfect fit for their college, they will try their level best to ensure that you enroll there , which includes providing financial aid ( if required)”
Buddy they want you to think that, enrolling the best possible talent is only next to generating income. They purposefully alter the numbers, the real deal would be the number who had their full need met, not those who receive aid. Let’s say you got accepted into UPenn and they gave you $1k of aid, you took out loans for the rest of your need and decided to attend. Guess what, you just became a part of a bogus statistic, they’ll count you as a kid who received aid! You should really read a good book on financial aid, I’ll email it!</p>

<p>@‌DjangoIRL That’s right, the rich most of the times don’t deserve the advantage. It’s a pity that too many poor and talented don’t get in each year.</p>

<p>Unfortunately that’s just how it is, but then again, its often true that those who didnt deserve to get in didnt really benefit from the college (one exception being Evan Spiegel) and those who deserve to and can’t often still succeed. </p>

<p>Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better, I think they shouldn’t have gotten in in the first place </p>

<p>Well, what can you do…</p>

<p>I can definitely be disappointed about it!</p>

<p>This is so stupid for the Ivies. Really, each should just set aside 10 spots each year and auction them to the highet bidder whose kid has a minimum GPA of B+ and SAT of 2100. Floor price will be USD$5.0 million. Then, we can have the Russian, Chinese, Indian and American billionaires competing against one another. Really, the Ivies are selling their slots way too cheaply. There are enough millionaires/billionaires out there that would easily pony up a few million to get their kid in, and no one has to know!</p>

<p>^ I think a Billionaire kid with 2100 SAT and B average is quite rare? Don’t you?</p>

<p>I’m sorry, but you should realise one thing, the kids that i mentioned are not stupid. The one who got into Stanford is actually a brilliant photographer ( he is majoring in photography) and the one who got into Yale did reasonably well in school, got a 2260 and was a pretty damn good pianist. And $2 million is a huge amount of money
PS- i just read the last comment. That statement is actually ridiculous. My best friend’s father owns a huge Indian company, and is definitely worth several hundred million dollars. He is ridiculously dedicated to school, has chosen the hardest subjects, and i’m sure he will get above 2150.He really doesn’t need to, but he is a brilliant student.
So you really shouldn’t generalize so much. It comes across as bitter. </p>