"Prestigious" private schools and college placement of NON-LEGACY students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New poster to this thread here with a serious question: just how much does one need to contribute to attain "serious donor" status? Anyone know? One lump sum? Sustained donations over time? My DH and I started donating yearly to our alma maters years ago before we had kids and this thread has me wondering whether that will help us in the long run...

I don't know but my dad's meagre contributions to Yale didn't get me in! Most of the legacies I know who got into ivies came from families with long histories with the school i.e. not just dad went there (and I am old enough so that only our dads would have gone to an ivy) but also uncles, grandfathers, great-grandfathers. In all of these cases, the kids were fairly smart to begin with and all had gone to good private schools. IMHO, anyone who attended a top private school is prepared enough to do the work at any top college. Not saying that makes them deserving of a spot and that legacy admits are a good thing, just that it's not as if these kids were dumb.

A good book to read about this topic is "the Price of Admission" by Daniel Goldin (??) he used to write for the WSJ.

[Anonymous]

I think you can find anectdotes that go many different ways. I know someone whose parents went to Ivies (on scholarships) - grandparents were barely educated. This person and all 5 of her siblings got into the same school - the one who was a classmate was average. I am certain that it is not a coincidence that 8 members of the same family over 2 generations went to the same school. BTW, the family is not wealthy byt mommy had some political connections so that may have made a difference.

[Anonymous]

can you be considered a legacy if an aunt or uncle attended the school or just parents?

[Anonymous]

Just been through this with a daughter, who did make it from a private school into an ivy without any of the traditional "hooks": legacy, being recruited for sports, great family wealth or access, or any kind of diversity. Am really proud of her, because she did it on the basis of great scores and achievements, but there are thousands of kids like that each year, so I do think her school's connections were helpful. It's likely, though, that someone coming from a DC public school with her academic record would have be accepted even more widely because, as someone pointed out, Washington has too many private school kids competing for the most competitive schools. Legacy helps some kids in the ivies certainly, but doesn't seem to do a thing for a kid who's not already truly outstanding academically.

[Anonymous]

I went to UVA and worked in admissions. Legacy status mattered. I have a good friend who worked in admissions at Colgate. Legacy status mattered. Have to think it matters most every where

[Anonymous]

These are legitimate questions to ask when considering whether to send your child to a prestigious private school. Even assuming that tuition doesn't increase, we are talking about at least $350,000 for K-12. And the exmissions show only a small handful go to the Ivies. If some are legacies, the number is obviously smaller.

And, yes, there are a lot of other great schools and the students from the privates probably do well. But the point here is that if you goal is to get your DC into an Ivy, this isn't a good bet.

If money is no object, then who cares (but really, are you sure money is no object; take it from me, a great paying job may not be there tomorrow).

In my opinion, invest the $350 now, and either give a good chunk of it so your DC can start a great business, or save it and make sure you are never ever a burden to your kids, that you can take great trips (with your kids and grandkids or without), etc, etc.

We live in an area with some of the best public schools around.

[Anonymous]

I think many are missing the point about private schools. They are not a panacea. There is no guarantee that if your child attends one, that they will have a slate of "success" awaiting them.

However, for some, it is a better learning environment, or will provide better foundational education than a public or parochial school.

Every kid is different and every family situation is different.

[Anonymous]

Affirmative action for the already priveledged at colleges, affirmative action for them at the private school admissions.
Another thing is do you want your kid going to the same school as the badly behaving brat that no-one dares to chastise because of their family wealth?

[Anonymous]

" Most of the legacies I know who got into ivies came from families with long histories with the school ... In all of these cases, the kids were fairly smart to begin with and all had gone to good private schools. "


For an Ivy league school, you would expect the kids to be exceptional, not just fairly smart. Ivies turn away many kids with perfect SAT scores. If they are doing it to cater for the legacies, then that might explain why some other colleges are producing better engineers etc compared to them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for the already priveledged at colleges, affirmative action for them at the private school admissions.
Another thing is do you want your kid going to the same school as the badly behaving brat that no-one dares to chastise because of their family wealth?

Or you could continue to perpetuate myths about education choices out of some petty misconceptions or jealousy.

[Anonymous]

Ivies, and other colleges as well, don't just want top students. They will accept students who don't have the perfect test scores and grade who show other talents (sports, music, but also academic niches that might not translate into overall numbers). There is always a preference for legacies but most reject more legacies than the accept -- in other words, the preference will only take an applicant so far.

So, yeah, the students are exceptional but not necessarily in only one dimension. Ultimately, it is a big crapshoot -- each year the admissions offices try to create a personality of the incoming class, and it varies from year to year. Fortunately, there are many, many rigorous, terrific colleges in this country outside of the Ivy league -- there will be the right college for each of our children, if we're just open to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Affirmative action for the already priveledged at colleges, affirmative action for them at the private school admissions.
Another thing is do you want your kid going to the same school as the badly behaving brat that no-one dares to chastise because of their family wealth?

Or you could continue to perpetuate myths about education choices out of some petty misconceptions or jealousy.

Are you saying that the other posters here, including an admissions officer, are making it all up?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like America is no longer a mertirocracy
then again, maybe it has never been

[Anonymous]

It's the latter. But the US is still far more meritocratic than most countries.

[Anonymous]

I think there are legacies and then there are legacies. Some people employ the strategy mentioned by another poster: give increasing large amounts until it's application time. Maybe that matters. But I think if you want them to be on the look out for your kid, there are other things you can do. Attend the reunion. Join your local ivy club. Sign up to be a class officer or to help with admissions interviews (my school still does them; they are conducted by alums unless you live near the school).

I have not always been able to be in the top donor category at my school, and some years I never gave at all. But I have done some of these other things, and I hope that work, plus the occasional $1,000 or $5,000 gift, will be enough for them to know I am not just an alum in name only. If you really love the school, you should be doing these things anyway. If you didn't really love the school, why would you want to send your kid there?