
Rich people pay their way into Harvard - pitdesi
http://www.quora.com/Harvard-University/Do-rich-people-really-pay-their-way-into-Harvard
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hendzen
Another way the rich get in to Ivy League schools is through recruitment for
"aristocratic sports" such squash, crew, sailing, polo, golf, etc. Most of
these sports are not offered at public schools, and even if they are, the only
way to attain the necessary skill level is through expensive private coaching.
Golden's "The Price of Admission" provides a thorough look at these practices.

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cma
This is the case even aside from alumni-preference. As recently as 2006, 20%
of people admitted to Harvard got double time or more on the SAT. In 2003,
College Board stopped flagging scores that were achieved under extended time
conditions. The way to get double time on the SAT is to get a particular
learning disorder diagnosis, something less wealthy students have less access
to, particularly considering the lower likelihood of their parents being in
the same social circles as local doctors.

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pitdesi
Do you have a source on that 20% stat? The only information I can find about
it is this 02 article from the Crimson, which states that they receive several
hundred APPLICATIONS that are flagged with extra time. Considering they have
35k applications and accept ~2k students, I find it really hard to believe
that 20% of their admitted students got extra time.

[http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/7/19/sat-changes-
will...](http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/7/19/sat-changes-will-not-
affect-harvard/)

That being said, your point that rich kids are more likely to get extra time
is certainly true:
[http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=1787712&page=1&...](http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=1787712&page=1&singlePage=true)

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cma
Can't find the source where I originally read this. But, from that ABC article
you linked:

"The natural proportion of learning disabilities should be somewhere around 2
percent, the College Board said, but _at some elite schools_ , up to 46
percent of students receive special accommodations to take the tests,
including extra time."

emphasis added

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pitdesi
elite schools refers to high schools though, not colleges

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david927
Ivy league schools, including Harvard, have always made money off of their
ability to mix the paint of the smart with the wealthy and call it the same
color. It's always been one way to pass on an inheritance, but in this
increasingly meritocratic world, more and more people are realizing that
simply attending a school is not much of an indicator of ability or knowledge.

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Locke1689
People seem to be answering two completely different questions on that site.
The first question is "Does Harvard give preference to legacy admissions?" The
answer to that question is unequivocally yes.The second question is "Can you
pay your way into Harvard independent of legacy admission." The answer to the
second question is far more interesting and far less official.

