I'll bite. "Rich enough" =
Mummy and Daddy donated $5 million for a new building. Yes, this happens. It's been documented.
The process isn't so crass as, "Will you admit my little snowflake if I make a big donation?" But it's still there.
What I though was nuts is how these people aren't even trying to hide the fact they bought their kid's admission, and the university is giving out all these facts and statistics:
The numbers have increased under Ms. Keohane, Duke's current president. Duke says it admitted about 125 nonalumni children in 1998, and again in 1999, who had been tentatively rejected or wait-listed prior to considering family connections. It accepted 99 such students in 2000. Similar data aren't available for 2001 or 2002, the school says.
her younger sister Meg, a high-school senior, is applying to Duke. Maude says the family likes Meg's chances. "The people my mother works with for fund raising told her, 'It's really hard to get the first child in,' " she says. "After that, sisters and brothers are easier." Duke says it, like many universities, gives some preference to siblings.
Mrs. Bunn says she's not twisting anyone's arm. "I told them, 'If she's qualified at all, that would be lovely,' " she says. "If she gets in, I'd be happy to stay on the parents' committee."
The first part is just, I don't know, crazy to hear, but in my opinion the fact that colleges are being transparent about it is good, at least....
