Letters from Board members

[Anonymous]

Hearing of multiple situations where applicants got board /influential donors’ (named buildings) letters to submit in “support of their application”.
Both public and private colleges & universities.

In the cases of OOS flagships, it’s worked at Mich/Wisc/UT/UVA this year - all OOS and all applicants I personally know (or my kid knows).

Also, know of kids who got similar board “letters of support” at Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Yale and Barnard this year. All ED/EA/REA kids - all admitted.
Yes, we are at a private school. Small classes = Kids talk.

Is this practice really that common? Does everyone mine their network to get this done? Does this happen every year or only this one bc it’s so unpredictable ?? Does it work for RD too or only EA/ED etc…

Counselors please weigh in as well.

[Anonymous]

Never heard of anyone doing this and my kid is at a private. Correlation is not causation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hearing of multiple situations where applicants got board /influential donors’ (named buildings) letters to submit in “support of their application”.
Both public and private colleges & universities.

In the cases of OOS flagships, it’s worked at Mich/Wisc/UT/UVA this year - all OOS and all applicants I personally know (or my kid knows).

Also, know of kids who got similar board “letters of support” at Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Yale and Barnard this year. All ED/EA/REA kids - all admitted.
Yes, we are at a private school. Small classes = Kids talk.

Is this practice really that common? Does everyone mine their network to get this done? Does this happen every year or only this one bc it’s so unpredictable ?? Does it work for RD too or only EA/ED etc…

Counselors please weigh in as well.

Usually it’s more like a personal recommendation - offering more insight into the applicant and why applicant is a good fit - not a letter indicating parents will donate $$.
Yes, happens frequently for private universities.

[Anonymous]

Wow. You know a lot of important people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hearing of multiple situations where applicants got board /influential donors’ (named buildings) letters to submit in “support of their application”.
Both public and private colleges & universities.

In the cases of OOS flagships, it’s worked at Mich/Wisc/UT/UVA this year - all OOS and all applicants I personally know (or my kid knows).

Also, know of kids who got similar board “letters of support” at Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Yale and Barnard this year. All ED/EA/REA kids - all admitted.
Yes, we are at a private school. Small classes = Kids talk.

Is this practice really that common? Does everyone mine their network to get this done? Does this happen every year or only this one bc it’s so unpredictable ?? Does it work for RD too or only EA/ED etc…

Counselors please weigh in as well.

Usually it’s more like a personal recommendation - offering more insight into the applicant and why applicant is a good fit - not a letter indicating parents will donate $$.
Yes, happens frequently for private universities.

Content of the letter does not matter in the slightest. It's who it is coming from. "More insight into the applicant" --- give me a break.

[Anonymous]

It makes sense that influential donors and board members would be able to help kids get admitted. I have a job where I spend time with rich people. These folks don't have as many of these chits as you may think (esp. for non-family members). Usually these kids have a great applications, and it goes without saying that your kid has to go if a board member/donor is supporting their application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. You know a lot of important people.

+1 I would hope that the recommendation of a board member would indeed carry some weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense that influential donors and board members would be able to help kids get admitted. I have a job where I spend time with rich people. These folks don't have as many of these chits as you may think (esp. for non-family members). Usually these kids have a great applications, and it goes without saying that your kid has to go if a board member/donor is supporting their application.

Do they though?

Think some people get multiple letters for several schools.

[Anonymous]

Your kid needs a competitive application to begin with…after that, these things absolutely make a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid needs a competitive application to begin with…after that, these things absolutely make a difference.

Love that wealthy connected people’s kids can’t get into college on their own merits. Just confirms a lot of what we already know about them.

[Anonymous]

That helped my kids get into private HS (one at a very competitive private). It did not work for one of my kids at a moderately competitive private HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of anyone doing this and my kid is at a private. Correlation is not causation.

I hate this phrase. Especially when it's 100% used incorrectly. in this face, correlation IS causation. in your case, where you know no one (who is telling you) about board connections and thus it doesn't happen. THat's a better example of correlation not being causation.

[Anonymous]

Board members generally are large donors or people with the capacity to be large donors. And then on top of that they have decision-making power in how the university runs. So, yes, a meaningful recommendation from a board member almost certainly will have impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hearing of multiple situations where applicants got board /influential donors’ (named buildings) letters to submit in “support of their application”.
Both public and private colleges & universities.

In the cases of OOS flagships, it’s worked at Mich/Wisc/UT/UVA this year - all OOS and all applicants I personally know (or my kid knows).

Also, know of kids who got similar board “letters of support” at Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Yale and Barnard this year. All ED/EA/REA kids - all admitted.
Yes, we are at a private school. Small classes = Kids talk.

Is this practice really that common? Does everyone mine their network to get this done? Does this happen every year or only this one bc it’s so unpredictable ?? Does it work for RD too or only EA/ED etc…

Counselors please weigh in as well.

Not surprising esp for private school kids. All about money and connections. Scary when these kids have to do something on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hearing of multiple situations where applicants got board /influential donors’ (named buildings) letters to submit in “support of their application”.
Both public and private colleges & universities.

In the cases of OOS flagships, it’s worked at Mich/Wisc/UT/UVA this year - all OOS and all applicants I personally know (or my kid knows).

Also, know of kids who got similar board “letters of support” at Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Yale and Barnard this year. All ED/EA/REA kids - all admitted.
Yes, we are at a private school. Small classes = Kids talk.

Is this practice really that common? Does everyone mine their network to get this done? Does this happen every year or only this one bc it’s so unpredictable ?? Does it work for RD too or only EA/ED etc…

Counselors please weigh in as well.

Not surprising esp for private school kids. All about money and connections. Scary when these kids have to do something on their own.

But that won’t ever happen.