Does being the child of a celebrity give you a leg up with elite schools?

[Anonymous]

I promise this isn’t sour grapes; my kids were never even close to being in the running for elite colleges and are perfectly content. But every time I read an article about where a celebrity’s kid is going, it’s usually a top, top school. I’m sure they’re bright but it’s just so competitive and I wonder if they’d have a shot as the kid of an average Joe. The celebrities themselves often didn’t go to college themselves, due to their careers.

[Anonymous]

^typing quickly, pardon grammatical errors!!

[Anonymous]

Yes it definitely helps. And celeb kids often have interesting activities due to their parents, like being in movies or working on set.

[Anonymous]

Duke and Brown seem to come up often with celebrity kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duke and Brown seem to come up often with celebrity kids.

Yeah. Catherine Zeta Jones/Michael Douglas’ daughter graduated from brown yesterday. Seinfeld’s kid from Duke

[Anonymous]

I would assume always up until the college years. But after that, maybe sometimes but not always. Remember how Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman and other celebrities and rich people were scamming to get their kids into colleges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duke and Brown seem to come up often with celebrity kids.

Yeah. Catherine Zeta Jones/Michael Douglas’ daughter graduated from brown yesterday. Seinfeld’s kid from Duke

Parker/Broderick and Wentworth/Stephanopolous kids also graduated yesterday from Brown.

[Anonymous]

I think the college also looks at how the individual be as an alum. More able and likely to donate lots of money. Have a more public forum to talk about the school.

It can also be a positive to rich but not as wealthy students. Then they will also donate more money to the school. These are the kids using private jets to take their rich friends on trips and other experiences.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know celebrities per se, but I do know two families with prominent parents in a public policy/public intellectual arena, and their kids definitely get a boost in admissions. That said their kids are bright on their own so it’s not like they don’t deserve to be there, more like they are taking the spots of kids with more money or whom may have scored somewhat higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would assume always up until the college years. But after that, maybe sometimes but not always. Remember how Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman and other celebrities and rich people were scamming to get their kids into colleges?

There’s a limit to admissions if the kid shows little academic potential or effort … my guess is the Hollywood kids admitted to Duke and Brown do have a baseline level of ability and drive. But other celebrity kids are not too bright and are spoiled. Buying their way into USC is the best outcome …

[Anonymous]

Of course.... I mean I think the kids have the grades to get in, but they are loaded, interesting and qualified so yes, they will get in ahead of an equally qualified child of an accountant.

[Anonymous]

They certainly can choose where they want to go, except those situations where the kid is clearly unable to handle the course load without a LOT of intervention.
I think we can think of celebrity kids who were rejected from certain schools. Because if they take them anyway, it either makes them look like a joke (which they end up looking like anyway) or they have to fail the kid and deal with lifelong wrath.
Apparently now just getting rejected ends up meaning lifelong wrath.

[Anonymous]

I do think the kids of prominent people have an advantage - not just celebrities, but also the offspring of people in public affairs and finance in particular.

[Anonymous]

Being a child of a celebrity gives you a leg up in every single part of your life except privacy.

[Anonymous]

Of course it does.