Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritism' information

Re:Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritis... by HarryHirsch on Saturday February 11, 2023 @02:49PM (#34755658)

It's all about access - donate money, get your children into a place where they can have access to political and professional networks. That's the University of Southern California admissions scandal.

More money gets you a voice in hiring committees where you can set the tone of the department and shape political discourse. The Koch brothers (those people again) did that very successfully with George Mason University when they transformed what was a commuter college into a megaphone for libertarian ideas.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Students suing elite U.S. colleges seek 'wealth favoritis... by Kon-Peki on Saturday February 11, 2023 @04:09PM (#34756377)

> It's all about access - donate money, get your children into a place

There is also a flip side to this coin, which is why universities usually call this the “development” office.

If you are going to give money away, you are very likely to give it to an organization to which you have some sort of affinity to. Universities are actively trying to cultivate that affinity so they can capture some or all of your charitable spending. And they really, really don’t want any donor to know how much they’ve been manipulated. Many people really believe that their child earned their admission letter based on merit.

[ Parent | on HN ]