<p>If I were applying, I would want to get in on my own merit. That is a matter of personal choice. I will tell you that there was a student in my son’s high school. He was accepted to a university where his father is a professor. Some of his classmates were cruel, IMO. They told him that he was only accepted because of his father. I guess that he will never know for sure, and maybe he cares a lot, a little bit, or not at all. I think that you should decide whether you would care if you never really knew why you were accepted (connections vs. your own accomplishments). You are right, many people would use any hook, but many people would not. This is JMO.</p>