Posting a question to the group - has anyone ever heard of applicants sending handwritten notes with gift baskets to admissions counselors for their region/state? And if so, is anyone else as appalled as I am that the applicant and his/her parents would engage in such desperate and blatant attempts to curry favor? I am assuming that for public schools accepting such a gift would be contrary to the counselors’ code of conduct but not sure for private schools.