You can't BUY your way in, can you?

Applying to College
1

<p>I have a friend at school who is set on going to UCLA, but her grades are...let's just say not the best. I would say B to C averages and a couple A's here and there. She wants to go to UCLA for the social life there and around the school more than anything, I would assume, and told me that she knows she is going there and will be accepted because money can get you anything? </p>

<p>Are the UC's that corrupt that they will accept bribes and such for admissions, or is she just thinking too much of her parent's money?</p>

<p>Thank you! It had just been bugging me that some student might be able to get in that way. In NO way do I mean to offend anybody!</p>

2

<p>Depending on the school, large donations do buy consideration for marginal applicants. Are her parents multi millionaires? Willing to donate large sums (7 figures) to UCLA? She can get in then. It’s called a “development” admit. The more selective a school, the pricier it is to qualify.</p>

3

<p>A ten million dollar donation to the ailing UC system would probably allow a person of the donor’s choosing to attend a UC campus if they had less than acceptable stats.</p>

4

<p>It’s possible. The UC’s are taking hard hits to their budget. I really hope your friend doesn’t get accepted though.</p>

5

<p>That is terrible! I don’t mean to curse her either, but I would rather her not take somebody else’s admission who has much better academics…</p>

<p>But, I suppose…what can you do when the economy is THIS bad…:confused: I just wish university’s didn’t succumb to this type of bribery.</p>

6

<p>Well without donations like that, the schools may not be able to fund ambitious projects nearly as well…</p>

7

<p>UC Berkeley and UCLA may have enough integrity to reject your friend. Her stats are just far too low for them</p>

8

<p>^probably depends on the donation amount, no?</p>

9

<p>The donation amount ultimately depends on the parents. Rich as they may be, it’s unlikely that they’d be willing to fork over an insane amount of money just for their daughter to hang out and mingle at some college.</p>

10

<p>Absolutely. Enough money can buy you almost anything, including admission to any school.</p>

11

<p>UCLA is a state school. There may be rules governing such things. At a private school, I’m sure that enough money can improve one’s admission chances.</p>

12

<p>There have been lots of stories about students who expect to be admitted fter parents make a large donation and are sorely disappointed. Its not impossible, and if she is famous or has famous parents , or who will continue to make large donations or are willing to fund the construction of a building, anything is possible, but its not likely.</p>

13

<p>Tell her that there are other - and more importantly cheaper - ways of participating in social life.</p>

<p>As she obviously aspires to exclusiveness, the Illuminati will surely accept a bribe.</p>

14

<p>For better or for worse, the UC system is notoriously bad at cultivating developmental admits. I would not assume anything if I were her.</p>

15

<p>Many private schools have what is quietly referred to as a “developmental admit.” The “development” referred to means development of funding, i.e. money raising. And we are usually talking about big money. A donation measured in the thousands won’t help much with admission, but one in the millions or tens of millions might.</p>

<p>Most state schools are required to primarily serve the tax-payers in their state rather than rich donors. However, with say 10 million dollars in the offing, unless the applicant is a total loser I bet UCLA might find a way to apply its “holistic” admissions critieria to within an inch of their life to see if somethng couldn’t be worked out.</p>

16

<p>Ah, the classic “Is going to this more expensive college worth it?” thread. Is going to UCLA worth the extra 10 MILLION DOLLARS? Who can really say.</p>

17

<p>“Buying your way in” is such a bad way to say it ;)</p>

<p>It is simply a, ahem, donation to the school
Just happens to be your family that made a donation</p>

18

<p>It would be INCREDIBLY stupid for any school to turn down an applicant willing to pay 7+ figures for admission. That’s like turning down free money.</p>

19

<p>Defining the term “qualified” as a student who can successfully complete the work and graduate.</p>

<p>Top schools have many more qualified candidates than slots. I’m sure a large enough contribution can lead to the acceptance of a candidate who is “qualified” but who would have surely been rejected otherwise.</p>

<p>If a candidate is not “qualified” I hope the university would explain to the donor that acceptance would not be a favor.</p>

20

<p>This could turn into quite an interesting debate, seeing as one could argue that, although morally wrong, these donations can actually help fund scholarships for many qualified students that otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend…I’ll leave it at that for now.</p>

<p>Anyway, to the OP, I have an anecdote to offer. Two kids in my school from last year’s graduating class applied to the University of Pennsylvania ED. One of the students had credentials that, although not mediocre, were not Ivy League worthy. She did, though, have a very VERY rich father that had been regularly making donations to UPenn for over a year because her brother was applying (and got in) the year before. Both students were wait listed. The wealthier father flew to Pennsylvania for an “unexpected” short weekend trip and, a few months later, his daughter was accepted into UPenn, while the other student was rejected (he ended up going to Columbia, so I don’t exactly feel bad for him).</p>